Facing Changes
by coleypunk-y2j
Summary: Haley Richardson has been through a lot in her young life. She's experienced both her parent's deaths, and now she's being adopted by the Brooks' family. The going isn't easy when not every member in her new family accepts her. How will she cope with these changes in her life? *Summary sucks!* AU, OC Lead. More warnings inside. Feat. CM Punk, Edge, Christian, & more. Please Review!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any WWE Talent or any of their families. I only claim ownership to my OC's.  
**Rated:** T  
**Warnings:** slash, het, AU, OC lead, explicit language, violence, mature themes, etc.  
**BEFORE YOU READ:** This is pretty much all written already. I've been writing it for months now xD So, there's a few things you should know. First, and most importantly, this is COMPLETELY FICTIONAL! I own nobody but my OC's, as mentioned above. This is for entertainment purposes _only_. Second, the OC lead is loosely based off of me. The name is about the only thing true about me. Read on to find out more information. Please enjoy this!  
**Also:** Image is ME! :)

* * *

#^#^#** Wednesday **#^#^#

A soft knock sounded outside of Phil Brooks' bedroom door. He looked up from his pile of homework and rolled his eyes. If it was his little sister, Selene, again, he was going to consider locking her in a closet.

"What?" he called with a hint of irritation in his voice. The door opened to reveal his mother and father on the other side, wide smiles on their youthful faces. The irritation melted away, and in its place slight confusion came in. "Oh, I thought you were Selene! I don't know how many times I have to tell that girl that I have homework to do before I play hide and seek with her again…"

His mother silenced him with a brief _shh_. "Phillip, honey, we have some good news!" His father stood next to his mother and put a hand on her shoulder and smiled wide.

He gave them a look. "Uh, what?"

"You tell him, dear," his mother said, looking up at his father. He looked at his son and smiled once again. "All of the paperwork is settled, Phillip. We're adopting a child, and she's coming in a few days!"

While his parents hugged happily, Phil's jaw dropped slightly before he snapped it shut and clenched tightly. "You're adopting a child?"

His parents noticed his sudden anger. "What's wrong, Phil?" his mother asked, looking slightly crestfallen. He inhaled sharply, trying to hold back every comment that was fighting its way to the surface.

"Um, okay, you're adopting a child, great. But why?"

"I know we have Mike, you, and Selene already," his mother started. "But we wanted another child. And since we didn't want to have another baby in the house, we decided that we'd help a child out who needs a loving family."

The 15-year old sighed slowly. "Can you tell me about her?"

"Sure!" his mother gushed, sitting on the edge of his bed. He swiveled his desk chair so he was facing his parents, who now sat side-by-side on his bed. "She's recently orphaned. Her name is Haley Nicole Richardson, 14-years old, and from Massachusetts. We've met her once, and she was very quiet, shy, and polite; all of them were, though, so she might have a different personality when she adjusts to us. You two will be the closest in age, as Mike's 18 and Selene's 9. And I know your father said she's coming in a few days, but, to be more exact, she's coming in three days, on Saturday. You'll have two days to adjust and bond until she starts school with you."

Phil sat, speechless. This was a lot to take in all at once. He told his parents just that.

"I know, honey," his mom said, rubbing his arm comfortingly. "We wanted to tell you in advanced so it could sink in a bit. We've already told Mike, and he seems quite indifferent about it. I know Selene's going to go insane when she finds out she's getting a sister…"

A small spark of jealousy flashed through Phil's body. As much as he loathed having his sister up his ass all the time, he enjoyed how she worshipped the very ground he stepped on. If this girl was going to come in and mess that up, and mess up his entire life, he wasn't going to keep quiet about it.

"Thanks for the heads up, I guess," Phil mumbled. "I'm going to finish my homework now."

"Okay, Philly," his mom said, ruffling his long black hair once. He tightened his body at the action. "See you at dinner."

* * *

#^#^# **Meanwhile** #^#^#

Haley Richardson sat at a long, wooden table sandwiched between two fellow orphans as she ate her dinner excitedly. She couldn't believe the paperwork had cleared so quickly. Since it did, she would be getting on a plane early Saturday morning and flying alone to Chicago to meet – and join – her adoptive family. She met her adoptive parents once before, and had been nervous and anxious throughout the meeting. Now she didn't have to worry about impressing them enough to consider being adopted. They wouldn't replace her deceased parents, but they'd help fill the void in her heart from losing them both so tragically.

To her left, Deanna was currently telling a joke to Courtney, which led to both of them laughing raucously. She turned to her right and smiled at Riley. They were the same age, both orphaned, and had bonded while at the foster home they stayed at. Riley was currently in the middle of getting her paperwork sorted out, and hoped it would clear soon so she could join her new family in St. Louis. When she had told Riley that her paperwork cleared so quickly, the two had hugged and laughed happily.

"Excited still?" Riley teased around a mouthful of baked potato. Haley nodded some.

"I'm wicked excited," she smirked. "I'm kind of nervous to meet my adoptive siblings, though. I've only heard their names once or twice before. I know I'm going to be very close in age to one of their sons, Phillip."

"I don't know about you," Riley started, trying to control a noodle from falling out of her mouth, "but I don't know how I'm going to get used to a new last name so quick."

Haley laughed. Leave it to Riley to be most concerned about her last name! "My new last name is gonna be Brooks. What's yours going to be?"

"Orton," Riley managed around another mouthful of food. "I'm still months away from that, though, so I can remain Riley Marie Birmingham for a while longer. I'm gonna get three siblings, too. The oldest is 16, and the others are 11 and 8."

"Are we going to go out of touch?" Haley worried with her forkful of food paused in front of her mouth. Riley shook her head, and Haley allowed the fork into her mouth.

"We can e-mail until we get addresses and phone numbers. We already have each other's e-mails. And, if your new family has a computer with a webcam, we can video chat, too."

"It'd be nice to have a familiar face while adjusting to an entirely new life," Haley sighed slightly. Riley patted her back comfortingly.

"You'll do just fine. Mr. and Mrs. Brooks were nice when you met them, weren't they? I'm sure they're going to be going wicked overboard making sure you feel welcome."

"I'm still a bit nervous, is all," she murmured to her empty tray of food.

"Aren't we all?" Riley chuckled once before tipping back her carton of milk and downing the rest of it. "We're some of the lucky ones. We're actually getting a home."

* * *

#^#^# **Thursday** #^#^#

Phil slammed his locker shut and came face-to-face with his best friend Adam Copeland. Born in Canada, the boy had been raised in Chicago for most of his life. They'd been friends since elementary school.

"Ready for History class?" Adam asked with a groan. Phil shook his head.

"At this point, I wouldn't mind Miss Hanley screaming in my face. It'd be a nice distraction from the shit going through my mind right now."

"What's wrong?" Adam asked, clutching his books to his chest as they walked to class together. Phil ran his free hand through his messy black locks before grunting once. "My parents informed me I'm getting a little sister on Saturday."

"What? Your mom's pregnant?" Adam asked, incredulous. "She looks so damn skinny, though!"

"She's not pregnant!" Phil spat. "They're adopting some orphan from Massachusetts. She's 14 and that's like, all I know about her."

"Sheesh. That sounds rough, Phil," Adam said sympathetically. "What did Mike and Selene think?"

"Mike didn't really care," Phil began. "And judging by the squealing and other excited noises coming from upstairs this morning, I think Selene is a bit happy."

The two boys paused outside of their History class. "I hope she isn't too annoying or anything for your sake," Adam spoke.

"Thanks," Phil murmured. "I hope so, too."

Feeling better, Phil pushed through the door and made his way to his assigned seat. If he couldn't talk about this matter with his parents, at least he could with Adam.

* * *

#^#^# **Early Saturday Morning** #^#^#

Haley rolled out of her bed quietly, hoping to not jostle the bunk bed too much as she did so. Jolene would not be amused if she was awoken so early in the morning, and would not hesitate to scream at her, even though she was leaving. Haley had packed before she went to sleep, so with her small amount of clothing, she shoved her quilt on top and slid into a pair of old shoes. She kept her flannel bottoms and t-shirt on, only adding a jacket to stop the cold weather from nipping at her exposed flesh. After buttoning it, she quietly left the room with her suitcase in hand and walked towards the gathering room. One of the many foster mothers sat drinking coffee from a mug. She was bundled up as well, as she would be driving Haley to the airport. Haley was surprised to see Riley sitting with her knees drawn to her chest next to Marlee, the foster mom, waiting for her as well.

"Riley?" Haley whispered, confused. Riley smiled at her friend and hopped up to give her a hug.

"I begged Marlee to let me go drop you off, and she finally gave in," Riley giggled softly. Marlee got off of the couch and led them to one of the vans. Haley kicked her suitcase onto the floor as she buckled in next to Riley. The two sat in silence for a few miles.

"Good luck today," Riley murmured with a sad smile on her face. "E-mail me as soon as you can. I want to know how you're doing."

"This won't be the last time we see each other," Haley said. She took Riley's hand in hers and gave a soft squeeze. "When your paperwork goes through, we can e-mail and talk on the phone all the time. For now, you can e-mail me whenever you're able to. I'll be sure to send you a message as soon as I'm able."

"Have fun with your new family," Riley said genuinely, "and on the plane ride, too. I haven't been on a plane in years."

Haley giggled, and the two sat in silence again while Marlee kept driving. With small-talk, the half-hour ride to the airport went by quickly.

"Good-bye, Haley," Marlee said with a smile. "Enjoy your new family. I'll make sure Riley's okay until she gets adopted, too."

"Thanks, Marlee," Haley said, "good-bye to you, too. And bye, Riley! I'll contact you soon."

Haley took her suitcase in her hands again and hopped out of the car, waving as they pulled away and drove off. Sighing, she walked into the airport alone and went to the front desk. There, she picked up her ticket and joined the lines to board the plane. After dealing with the bustling lines for over twenty minutes, she finally sat in her seat and waited for take-off.

* * *

**A/N:** As we go further along, it will become more and more of an OC lead. Now that you've read that, here's some more information about "Haley".  
My name is Haley, and my middle name is Nicole. However, Richardson is not my last name. You don't need to know my last name. xD I do live in MA. I'm not an orphan, and I'm not 14! There is also no Riley in my life. And, obviously, I'm not being adopted by CM Punk's family. xD  
I hope you enjoyed this. Another update will be here soon, as it's already written up. Please review! :D


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any WWE Talent or any of their families. I only claim ownership to my OC's.  
**Rated:** T  
**Warnings:** slash, het, AU, OC lead, explicit language, violence, mature themes, etc.  
**Before you read:** I wasn't planning on having the next chapter up so early, but oh well. xD Enjoy!

* * *

#^#^# **Saturday (11:00 am)** #^#^#

"Phillip, Michael, Selene, get down here right now!"

Phil groggily raised his head off of his pillow at the noise of his mom yelling up the stairs. Still in his pajamas, he left his room with his phone in hand and ran downstairs right behind Mike. Selene's little feet came running after he had descended the stairs. She had probably just tore herself from her dolls, as she usually woke up much earlier than he and Mike did. The three siblings stood in front of their parents, all still in pajamas. They were dressed and had jackets on.

"Get shoes on right now," their father demanded. "We're going to the airport to pick up your sister."

They had no choice but to obey, as they did not want to face the wrath of their father angry. Phil slid into a pair of sneakers as Selene whined about being in her "jammies" still.

"Come on, let's go. We don't want to leave Haley alone in the airport by herself."

The children got into the car. He and Mike went in the way back, while Selene sat in the middle.

"She's going to sit right next to me, Mike and Phil," Selene informed them, turning around in her seat to look at them. "I don't care what you say about it, either!"

"Don't worry, Selene, she's all yours," Phil muttered, looking down at his phone. He had been dreading this day since he found out about it on Wednesday.

"I hope she's not as annoying as you, 'Lene," Mike teased, smirking when Selene giggled at him. Phil rolled his eyes and plugged his ear buds into his iPhone before jamming them into his ears and blasting his music loudly. The sooner they brought the moocher home, the sooner he could go back to his room and sleep.

Phil must have dozed off, because he woke up to Mike slapping his shoulder. "Wake up. We're at the airport."

Phil yawned and shoved his phone into the pocket of his jacket. He followed Mike and Selene out of the car, and they followed their mother and father into the airport. People were bustling around, as a plane had just landed, and impatient flyers bumped into Phil multiple times. He grunted, trying to keep his anger level down, as his mother let out a soft squeal and shuffled off somewhere with her arms outstretched. He craned his neck above the crowd to see his mom running towards a very short teenage girl. She _had_ to be less than five feet tall.

"Come on, guys," his father said, leading the three children towards his mother, who was hugging the blonde girl tightly. His mom had tears welling in her eyes when she pulled away from the hug. "Haley, meet your new family."

She smiled shyly and, with a blush staining her round cheeks, gave a small wave. His mom wrapped her arms around her shoulders and brought her forward.

"Hi, Haley!" Selene said excitedly. She was bouncing up and down. "I'm Selene, your littler sister. I'm 9 years old and my favorite color is yellow."

She hopped over to Haley and hugged her tightly. "Hi, Selene. I'm Haley, 14, and my favorite color is green." When Selene didn't let go after a few moments, Haley chuckled softly.

His father motioned towards Mike. "That's your oldest brother, Michael."

Mike lifted a hand and gave her a wave and a smile. "You can call me Mike. It's nice to finally meet you, kiddo."

"Don't just wave!" Selene giggled, releasing Haley to grab Mike's hand and drag him forward. "Hug!"

Mike rolled his eyes playfully and leaned down to hug Haley. She stood on her toes to hug him back. Phil looked on, bored. He wasn't going to introduce himself until he heard his mother clear her throat angrily. He groaned loudly and tipped his head to the side, letting his eyes investigate the ceiling.

"I'm Phil," he finally muttered, not looking at Haley. He felt a hard smack on his shoulder from Mike, who glared at him angrily. Phil reluctantly looked at the girl, who had a hurt look in her eyes. He could see she was expertly holding back tears, although her deep blue eyes did water slightly. Feeling somewhat bad, he stepped forward and bent down to hug her with one arm. She tentatively hugged back before drawing her arms back to her sides. He could feel his parents glaring daggers at him, but he didn't care. He hugged her and talked to her. How could they expect him to just accept the fact that some stranger was coming to live with him and forever be shoved into his life?

"Well, Haley, we're all very glad you're finally here," his father said, glaring at his youngest son still. Phil rolled his eyes. "Let's get back to the car so we can go home."

"Will you sit next to me?" Selene asked, hope in her eyes. She grabbed onto Haley's hand and held it. Haley gave her a warm smile.

"Of course, Selene. I wouldn't pass up the chance to sit next to my first sister ever."

Selene instantly brightened happily. Phil scowled and fell back, allowing everyone else to pass him. He felt an arm on his shoulder, and he looked up at Mike, who was tightening his hold on his shoulder.

"Could you stop being such a fucking bastard and at least pretend to be nice to her?" he hissed.

"I don't even want her in this fucking family," Phil shot back. "She's some stranger from who-cares where and now she's suddenly family? Who says I want her in my life?"

"Stop being a selfish bitch," Mike growled, digging his nails into his flesh. "She has no family. Her parents died nearly a year ago. She needs a family, and we're that family. Get that stick out of your ass and just fucking accept it, you punk."

After he said that, he gave him a hard shove and stormed off, catching up to his parents. Phil rubbed his shoulder and got in the way back next to Mike again. He kept his eyes on his phone the entire ride home, and locked himself in his room once they arrived. He drew his curtains shut and hid himself under the blankets before going back to sleep.

* * *

#^#^# **Haley's POV** #^#^#

"I'm sorry he's being such an ass, honey," Mrs. Brooks said, giving Haley a small smile. "He's incredibly moody, something he got from his father, but will deny it until he's on his death bed."

Haley sat at the kitchen counter as Mrs. Brooks bustled around in the kitchen. She had offered to help make lunch, but Mrs. Brooks insisted she didn't need to do anything.

"It's okay," Haley lied, looking down at the counter. She traced patterns with her finger along the surface. She was really hoping she'd hit it off with Phil, as they were only ten months apart in age. It was obvious she was only going to get companionship from Selene and the occasional Mike.

"So, tell me, sweetie," Mrs. Brooks started, pausing briefly. "What do you like to do for fun?"

"Um, I like to write and read," she murmured shyly. "I used to play guitar before my par- well, I haven't played since last year. And, uh, I guess that's it. I don't have many talents."

"Well, I know Mike likes all sorts of sports. Phil's a nerd. He loves all things comic books and video games. Selene loves acting out things and she loves ballet. She's wanted to be a ballerina since she was four. What do you want to be when you're older?"

"I don't know," Haley said honestly. "I guess being a nurse or an author would be nice."

"Those are both great careers," Mrs. Brooks said. "Haley, I know I'm changing the conversation topic right now, but I want you to know that you'll become a part of this family very soon. Well, you already are a part of this family, but you'll feel it soon. Phil's really not that bad, either. He'll warm up to you eventually."

"I hope so," Haley said, her voice quieting again. "I was hoping to know someone going into school. Oh, by the way, has my last name been changed yet?"

"We'll go to Town Hall after lunch and make it official," Mrs. Brooks promised, setting a plate in front of her new daughter. "Do you like salad with grilled chicken?"

"Yes, thank you," she said, smiling. She picked up her fork and dug in hungrily.

"Lunch time!" Mrs. Brooks called up the stairs. After a moment, feet bounding down the stairs filled Haley's ears. First, Selene came skipping over with her father right behind. Mike came down a moment later.

"Haley, can I sit next to you?" Selene asked, smiling. Haley nodded around a mouthful of food. Selene climbed up onto the barstool next to Haley and started eating. Mike took the one next to Selene, which left an open chair next to Haley.

"Where's Phil?" Mrs. Brooks asked, looking around for her absent son. Mike pointed at the stairs with his fork and jabbed it in the air, indicating Phil was upstairs.

"I'll get him," Mr. Brooks said, his voice gruff. He stomped up the stairs and came back a moment later, pulling his son down by his ear.

"Ow! Stop it, Dad!" Phil complained. Mr. Brooks finally let go once they hit the landing. Phil's hair looked like a mess. Part of it was sticking up in the back, and the rest was a tangled mess. Haley giggled, which caused Phil to whip his head at her and glare at her. She blushed and looked down at her plate, willing the tears to stay put. She listened to her "family" talk while she stared intently at her plate.

"Mike, get up," Phil demanded. Mike must have shaken his head, because Phil repeated himself.

"Go fucking take the one next to Haley!" Mike snapped.

"Michael!" Mrs. Brooks warned. To Phil, she said, "Phillip, go sit down before I make you sit down."

Haley heard Phil storm over to the vacant seat. He pulled it as close to the wall as possible before sitting on it. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, and found him inhaling his food as quick as possible. She let out a sad sigh and looked up at Mrs. Brooks.

"I'm full. May I be excused?" she asked in a quiet voice. Mrs. Brooks gave her an apologetic glance before nodding her head.

"Do you remember how to get to your bedroom?" Mrs. Brooks asked her. Haley nodded quickly and hopped down from her chair before lightly ascending the stairs. The attic had been converted into her room, so after she went up the first flight of stairs, she had to walk all the way down the hall and up the next set. She hastily opened the door at the top of the second flight of stairs and let herself into her new bedroom. She shut the door behind her and ran over to her suitcase to unearth her quilt. The familiar object comforted her as she sat down in the middle of her bed, back to the door, and started to sob into the fabric.

Haley couldn't be sure how long she had been crying before she heard someone open the door slowly. She desperately wiped away her tears before she turned to face the door. Selene stood at the doorway.

"Are you okay?" Selene whispered worriedly.

"Yeah," Haley managed quietly. Selene slowly made her way over to Haley's bed before climbing up on it to sit beside her new sister.

"I'm sorry Phil's such a jerk," she apologized for her brother. "He's really fun with me. I don't know what's wrong with him."

"He doesn't like me, Selene, that's what's wrong with him," Haley informed the young girl. She sniffled slightly and held her quilt tighter against her body.

"Did you bring that blanket with you?" Selene asked, curious.

"Yeah. My mom used to do quilting, and she made this for me a few weeks before, well…"

"It's really pretty," Selene interrupted. Haley silently thanked the young girl for interrupting so she didn't have to finish her sentence. "Did you have any siblings before you came here?"

"No," Haley answered. "I had lots of siblings at the foster home, though."

"Was the foster home fun?"

"It was alright," Haley admitted. "We had to sign up to use the computers, TV, and radio, though. And we bunked ten people to a bedroom. We earned points for doing chores and stuff, and once we had enough points, we could exchange them for something. Once, I got enough points to bring myself and someone else out to get ice cream. I took my fellow foster child Riley with me. She was my best friend there. The other time, I got a stuffed teddy bear."

"Do you have the teddy bear with you?" Selene asked.

"I let Riley keep it," Haley said. "And, in return, she gave me a stuffed horse. That's in my suitcase."

"Can I get it out for you?" Selene asked, already stalking towards it. Haley nodded, and Selene threw herself at the case and retrieved the horse. "It's really soft."

Haley smiled. "That's what I said when Riley gave it to me."

"Will you come watch iCarly with me?" Selene asked, looking up at Haley with her big eyes.

"Sure. I haven't seen that show in a while," Haley responded, slowly pushing herself off of the bed. She followed Selene to the main level of the house and into the family room. A large flat screen was mounted to the wall, and a laptop computer sat on a desk, charging. A sofa and loveseat faced the television with a coffee table in front of them. Selene bounced onto the sofa seat and used the remote to turn the TV on to Nickelodeon. Haley sat down next to her.

Three episodes later, Mrs. Brooks entered the room with car keys in her hand. "Sorry, Selene, I have to take Haley to Town Hall to get her name changed now. She can watch iCarly with you when we get back."

"Aww," Selene pouted, then instantly brightened again. "Have fun, Haley!" She gave her a big hug before turning off the TV and skipping away. Haley stood up from the couch and followed Mrs. Brooks to her car.

"You can sit up front, honey," she offered. Haley opened the passenger side door and got in after securing her seatbelt tightly. It took less than an hour to legally change her last name. As they got back in the car, Mrs. Brooks took a quick glance at Haley's outfit. She was wearing old jeans that were too long on her and a plain, long-sleeved shirt, both of which were clearly hand-me-downs.

"Haley, would you like to go to the mall and get some new clothes for school? I can't imagine you have much packed into your suitcase."

"Oh, I don't have any money," Haley murmured, looking up at Mrs. Brooks briefly.

"Nonsense!" Mrs. Brooks stated suddenly. "You're my child now, and I buy clothes for my children all the time. Don't you worry about money, okay?"

"Um, okay, Mrs. Brooks, thank you very much."

Haley sat in silence as Mrs. Brooks drove them to the mall. "Do you want to listen to music, dear?"

"Sure," Haley answered. She turned the radio on and flipped through different stations until she came across a classic rock station. "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne was currently playing, and she couldn't stop herself from bobbing along to the beat.

"Is this your favorite kind of music?" Mrs. Brooks asked, keeping her eyes on the road.

"Yes. My favorite band is Motley Crue, though. I almost got to meet the bassist around a year ago. He's my favorite."

"Thank God, one of my children listens to music that I like!" Mrs. Brooks laughed. "Mike and Selene listen to whatever's on mainstream radio, and Phil loves punk music."

"Really? I thought I heard him listening to Journey in his room earlier."

"Occasionally, he'll listen to that sort of music. But it's usually punk."

Mrs. Brooks found a parking space near the entrance to the mall. The two walked in and Mrs. Brooks led them to J. Crew.

"You go ahead and look around," Mrs. Brooks said, walking off on her own. Haley walked over to a table filled with colorful sweaters and held one up. The price tag dangled in front of her, and she almost felt her heart stop.

"92 dollars for this tissue-thin sweater?" Haley murmured to herself in disbelief. Even if Mrs. Brooks insisted, she would never spend so much money on one article of clothing. She wandered around until she found her adoptive mother and pulled her aside.

"I, uh, I didn't see anything I liked here," she lied. "Do you think we could go somewhere else to look for clothes?"

"Sure!" Mrs. Brooks said, walking out of the store. "There's Hollister right there. And American Eagle is a few down. Aeropostale and Abercrombie are past American Eagle. Why don't we start with Hollister?"

"Oh, um, okay," Haley murmured. She knew those stores were a bit pricey, but nothing compared to what she just witnessed in J. Crew. Once inside Hollister, Haley walked around and, in the back, found a shelf of sweaters and tank tops. Haley picked up sweaters in blue, green, brown, and grey, and grabbed a few plain white tanks, along with other shirts and pants. She went into the fitting room to try everything on, and ended up liking the blue and grey sweaters. As well, she liked the two white tanks, a navy blue tank top with pink flowers on it, two scoop-neck blouses, a pair of jean shorts, and two pairs of dark wash skinny jeans. She located Mrs. Brooks with the clothes in hand.

"Did you try those on?" she asked, smiling at her. She nodded. "Let me see what kind of clothes you like."

Haley handed the pile over and watched as Mrs. Brooks studied her taste in fashion. "I do this with all of my kids so I can pick stuff out while you do your own searching," she explained, folding everything up again and bringing it to the register. A tall, skinny, bleach-blonde girl greeted them with a smile and started scanning all of the clothes.

"That will be $256.57, please."

Haley stared, wide-eyed, as Mrs. Brooks effortlessly handed over her credit card.

"I didn't realize it would be that expensive. I'm so sorry," she squeaked, feeling her cheeks reddening. Mrs. Brooks gave her a quick hug.

"Didn't I say not to worry about the money?" she soothed. "It's either pay money for you to have clothes, or you can go out in public naked."

Looking at it from that perspective, Haley felt herself calm down some as the employee handed her a large bag with a shirtless man on the front. "Have a good day!"

"You too," Haley murmured, following Mrs. Brooks out of the store. "Thank you so much, Mrs. Brooks. I don't know how I can repay you."

"You don't have to," Mrs. Brooks insisted. "You're my daughter now. It's my job to buy you clothes from time to time."

Haley exhaled slowly. "I think that's enough clothes to start school with here, Mrs. Brooks. Could we, um, go home now?"

Mrs. Brooks smiled as Haley called it "home", and nodded her head. "Absolutely. I'm sure Selene is busy bugging everyone else in anticipation of you coming home."

* * *

**A/N:** Yes, Haley is a bit of a Mary Sue right now. But in context - a child adopted into a new family, trying to please them and be accepted - she's not a Mary Sue. As she adjusts, she'll become more of a well-rounded character. :) Please Review!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any WWE Talent or any of their families. I only claim ownership to my OC's.  
**Rated:** T  
**Warnings:** slash, het, AU, OC lead, explicit language, violence, mature themes, etc.  
**Before you read:** Short-ish chapter? Not sure xD Enjoy!_  
_

* * *

#^#^# **At Home** #^#^#

Haley lightly ran up the stairs once they were home and started walking down the hall when she heard Phil talking loudly in his room. His door was left open, and it sounded like he was talking to Mr. Brooks.

"I told you already, I don't want her in this damn family!" Phil angrily told his father. Her spirits fell as she listened to the conversation. "All she's doing is mooching off of us. How long until we go broke because of her?"

Haley looked down at the clothes bag in her hand with guilt.

"Listen here, boy," Mr. Brooks started, his voice deep and angry. "So help me God, if you do not start treating her like family, I will shove my foot so far up your ass you won't know what day it is. Got it?"

"Whatever," Phil hissed. Mr. Brooks started to walk towards the door, which made Haley jump. She quickly hurried down the hall and darted up the stairs and to her room before he caught her. She dropped the bag next to the door and ran over to her bed. It still looked neat, save for the small dent in the middle where she had cried, and her quilt and horse thrown messily on it. She shut off her lamp and crawled under the bedspread, even though it was only 4pm. She took her glasses off and put them on the bedside table before drawing the horse to her chest and screwing her eyes shut. This was all too much to take in so quickly. She fell asleep in the middle of crying.

She was awoken by Selene nearly two hours later. "What's up, Selene?" she murmured tiredly.

"It's time for dinner," Selene announced, walking over to her. "Come on, Haley; Mommy made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner."

Haley yawned and rolled out of bed. She put her glasses on and followed Selene to the dining room. The seat between Selene and Mr. Brooks was vacant, so she sat down there. Across from her sat Mrs. Brooks, who sat next to Mike, and Phil sat across from his father. She remained silent throughout the meal, despite the conversation going on among them.

"Whose turn is it to pick the game tonight?" Mrs. Brooks asked, looking around the table for an answer. Haley looked up, slightly curious.

"Well, normally it'd be Phil's turn tonight, but I think Haley should pick," Selene announced.

"It's _my_ turn," Phil declared, staring at his sister angrily. "She can choose some other time."

"Nonsense, Phil; let Haley choose tonight," Mrs. Brooks said, cutting open a meatball.

"Choose what?" Haley asked, puzzled.

"Family Game Night," Selene explained. "You get to pick the game we play."

"No, that's alright," Haley said, trying to avoid giving Phil another reason to hate her. "Let Phil pick. It's his turn, after all."

"He'll live," Mrs. Brooks said dismissively.

"_Please,_" Haley begged quietly, her voice barely over a whisper. "I don't want to cause any trouble here. I just got here, for Pete's sake."

"Who's Pete?" Mike asked teasingly. He gave her a warm smile. She managed a small smile in return.

"Please, Mrs. Brooks, just let him choose."

"Good thing she doesn't call you mom," Phil chuckled dryly. "Because she's not your daughter, and she's not a part of this family. She's a poor, pitiful orphan who's mooching off of us."

Haley felt her eyes prickle at Phil's words. "I don't understand why you're so mean to me."

"Because," Phil started, his voice condescending. "You're not a part of this fucking family. I don't _want_ you in this family. I don't _want_ you in my life."

"Phillip Jack Brooks!" Mrs. Brooks exclaimed, completely shocked at her son. "You apologize right now!"

"If I apologized, I wouldn't mean it," Phil spoke smoothly. "And you have a thing against lying. So I wouldn't want to lie to you."

"Listen, smartass," Mr. Brooks started, his voice just below a scream. He pounded his fist on the table loudly before bellowing towards his son. "What in the hell did we just talk about earlier? Haley is as much a part of this family as you are! And if you're not going to accept that, you will face extreme repercussions. Do you understand me, boy?"

"Yes, Captain," Phil said sarcastically. Mrs. Brooks sighed, defeated, as she looked at Haley. She was looking down, her hair in her face, but you could still see by the way her shoulders shook that she was crying. "Do you see what you've done, Phil? You've made her cry."

"Good," he muttered to his spaghetti. "She needed to hear the truth from somebody around here."

"You're a big, fat bully, Phil!" Selene stated. "Why can't you treat her like you treat me?"

"Because she's not my sister," Phil said coolly. He slurped some noodles into his mouth to find everyone except Haley staring at him in anger. "What? What'd I say?"

* * *

#^#^# **After Dinner** #^#^#

"Come on, everyone, it's time for Family Game Night," Mrs. Brooks announced, moving everyone into the family room. They sat around the coffee table while Phil looked for a game. Haley felt Mrs. Brooks rub her arm briefly. "I'm so sorry about him, honey. Don't let him get to you, okay? He'll come around soon."

Phil returned with Life. Everyone grabbed a plastic car and stuck a tiny person piece into one of the holes. Phil spun first and picked up a Life tile. Everyone took a turn until it was Haley's turn, and as she was reaching for the spinner, Phil beat her to it and spun it himself.

"Phil, it's Haley's turn," Mrs. Brooks reminded her son.

"Whatever," he hissed, glaring at Haley as she spun. She moved her car to the space she landed on and grabbed $5,000 from the banker, Mike.

The game went on for another hour. Phil used every chance he got to be mean to Haley, and when the game was finally over, kept interrupting her while she counted her money.

"Phillip, cut the shit right now," Mr. Brooks warned. He remained silent until Haley finished counting and announced her total.

"Impossible! She must have cheated. There's no way she could have won," Phil exclaimed.

"I didn't cheat," she shot back at Phil. Somewhat surprised by her comeback, he grunted to himself and focused his attention on putting his money back in the correct piles. Mrs. Brooks shot her a quick smirk before she put her game pieces away as well.

"It's getting late," Mr. Brooks declared. "Selene, why don't you run your bath?"

"Can I use bubbles, Daddy?" She asked sweetly.

"One capful," he warned his daughter. "Remember the last time you put the bubbles in yourself?"

"Yes," she giggled. "There was barely any water! It was all bubbles!"

"Go on, you," he teased. Selene got up and ran upstairs to the bathroom. Mike stood up and stretched his legs. "Dad, I'm going out tonight, remember?"

"Almost forgot," Mr. Brooks said, standing up as well. "Let me get your keys. Your curfew's 12:30."

"Dad, the movie gets out around 11:50," he explained. "After I drive Lucy home, I'll be back."

While Mr. Brooks went to get the car keys for Mike, Mrs. Brooks remained seated along with Phil and Haley. "Mike, why don't you go see where your father is? I want to talk to Phil and Haley alone."

"Sure, Ma," he said, leaving the room. Haley looked up at Mrs. Brooks hesitantly.

"This is more about Phil than it is about you, Haley," she said slowly. Phil groaned loudly. "I am going to make you get to know her if it's the death of me, Phil. Tonight, you'll sit in here while I supervise and talk. And you will not leave until you're genuinely nice to her, Phil."

After Mike left and Mr. Brooks went to check on Selene, Mrs. Brooks had Haley and Phil sit at opposite ends of the sofa facing each other while she mediated from the loveseat. "Phil, why don't you tell Haley what you like to do for fun?"

Phil rolled his eyes. "I like comics, hanging out with my friend Adam, and being alone."

"I like to write and read. I used to play guitar, too," Haley told Phil. "Who's your favorite superhero?"

"Batman," he smirked at the mention of him. "You?"

"I don't really like comics," she admitted.

"What do you read, then?" he asked.

"Young adult novels," Haley began, "Usually with the theme of supernatural, addiction, tragedy, and the like."

"Addiction? Really?" Phil snickered lightly. "I live by the X."

Haley gave him a confused look. "It means I'm Straight Edge. I don't drink, smoke, or do drugs. You don't do drugs or anything, do you?"

"Of course not!" Haley exclaimed. "My mother used to smoke, and she'd occasionally do it around me, but that's the extent of it. I see no point in getting 'totally high' or 'so wasted'."

"Dude, same here! Well, minus the part about my mother smoking, 'cause she's never done that, but still."

Haley held her fist up in the air. Phil gave her a weird look. "Fist bump!" she explained. He drew his hand into a fist and hit it against hers once. They gave each other smiles.

"See? That wasn't so hard, now was it, Phil?" Mrs. Brooks said, smirking. Haley watched as Phil's expression hardened when he realized he just had a decent conversation with her.

"Mom!" Phil complained. "You fucking tricked me! I still don't want her in this family!"

Haley sighed before she stood up from the couch. "I'm going to go say good-night to Selene, okay?"

Mrs. Brooks gave her a nod. She ran up the stairs and to Selene's room. She knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Selene shouted. Haley opened the door to find Selene in pajamas, her black hair still damp. "Hi, Haley! How was your first day in your new home?"

"It was…" Haley's voice trailed off briefly, "exhausting. I just came to say good-night to you. Sleep tight!"

Selene ran over to give Haley a hug. "If you get scared up in the attic all by yourself, you can come sleep in my room with me. I don't mind."

Haley laughed. "Thank you, Selene. I'll keep that in mind."

Haley left Selene in her room and went up to her bedroom. It was as she left it earlier. Not yet tired, she decided to unpack her suitcase and tidy up her bedroom. She pulled all of her old clothes out of the suitcase and put them in the dresser drawers across from her bed. Afterwards, she grabbed the Hollister bag, ripped all the tags off the new clothes, and put those in the drawers, too.

Haley looked back in her suitcase and found a few things still inside. The first things she grabbed were two photo frames. One of them contained a picture of she and Riley together, and the other contained a photo of she and her parents just a month or so before everything happened. She put those on top of her dresser neatly. A flash drive on a lanyard lay in the suitcase as well. She put that on top of her bedside table. On the flash drive were hundreds of photos, which she'd browse through once she was able to get onto a computer.

A small scrapbook journal remained in her suitcase along with a few other knickknacks. She hid the journal underneath some clothes in her drawer, and placed the knickknacks around the room. Finally, she set her glasses next to the flash drive, crawled into bed, and fell asleep shortly after she shut her lamp off.

* * *

**A/N:** Hope you enjoyed! Please Review! :D


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any WWE Talent or any of their families. I only claim ownership to my OC's.  
**Rated:** T  
**Warnings:** slash, het, AU, OC lead, explicit language, violence, mature themes, etc.  
**Before you read:** The beliefs stated in this chapter aren't necessarily mine - neither are the beliefs of any real-life characters. No offense is meant towards anyone.

* * *

#^#^# **Morning (9 am)** #^#^#

Haley felt a gentle prodding in her side. She yawned in her sleep and rolled over.

"Ow! You're on my hand!" Haley heard someone exclaim. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Phil was looking at her with narrowed eyes.

"Why'd you wake me up?" Haley murmured, yawning again.

"We have Church at ten," Phil grunted. He was dressed in khakis and a light blue button-down shirt tucked in. He looked uncomfortable in it. "Welcome to Catholicism."

Haley sighed quietly and scooted out of bed. When she turned back around, Phil was gone. Mrs. Brooks entered then, wearing a robe and soaking wet hair.

"Come on, Haley. It's your turn for the shower," she announced, drying her hair with a towel slightly. Haley followed her down the attic stairs and to the bathroom. Mrs. Brooks shut the door behind her, and Haley locked the door. She figured out how to turn the water on, and took her clothes off while waiting for it to heat up. She hopped in and quickly washed herself before wrapping herself in a towel once she got out. In the mirror, she looked at her tangled, sodden hair and sighed slightly. Somehow, she forgot to bring her hairbrush with her, and she didn't feel like asking for one. Still wrapped in her towel, she left the bathroom quietly and went back into her bedroom. She pulled a pair of her new jeans out along with one of her new blouses, and quickly got dressed. She loosely braided her wet hair and secured it with a hair band before going down to the dining room. She quickly realized she was ridiculously underdressed and blushed at the realization.

"Don't worry about it for today," Mrs. Brooks said, sensing Haley's concerns. "I doubt you even knew we had Church today."

She sighed with relief and joined her adoptive family at the table, where she sat next to Selene and Mr. Brooks again. A bowl sat in front of her with a spoon in it, and three boxes of cereal sat in the center of the table, along with a gallon of milk. She picked up the Cheerio's box, poured some into her bowl, and added some milk. She felt Phil glaring at her as she ate, but did not give him the satisfaction of returning the glance.

"Haley, how did you do your hair like that?" Selene asked. Haley felt back and touched the braid.

"Oh, it's just a simple braid, Selene," Haley answered. "Do you know how to braid hair?"

"No," Selene confessed. "Can you braid mine before we go?"

"Sure!" Haley agreed, giving the girl a smile.

"Selene, are you sure you _want_ her touching your pretty hair? I wouldn't want you to get lice or anything," Phil hissed. Mr. Brooks shot him an angry look.

"I doubt she's ever had lice," Selene responded around a mouthful of Lucky Charms. "I won't mention how you just got over an infestation… oops, I mentioned it, didn't I?"

Phil narrowed his eyes and focused his attention on his cereal bowl. Haley gave Selene a thankful smile, and she returned the gesture. After everyone was finished eating, they got into the car and headed off for the church. They walked in together and squeezed into a pew. Mr. and Mrs. Brooks sat next to each other, and then sat Mike, Haley, Selene, and Phil.

"There'd be some more room on this pew if we didn't have her hogging up half of the fucking room with her big fat ass," Phil muttered, loud enough for Haley to hear. She stared down at herself self-consciously before she glared at him. He gave her a bullshit smile.

They all focused their attention on the preacher, who stood behind a podium holding a microphone, saying stuff about God and Jesus.

"…now, let us pray," he declared, maneuvering the microphone to fit between his praying hands. He went on with a prayer while everyone bowed their heads, closed their eyes, and repeated what he said. Haley looked around the room nervously, not sure what to do. She was never religious, and praying didn't seem right to her. That's when her gaze fell on Phil, who was also not praying. The two looked at each other briefly before looking back down sheepishly. After an hour or so of listening to the preacher speak his words, they left for home. In the car, Selene kept going on about the sermon.

"Haley, didn't you think what he was saying about Jesus was nice?" she asked.

"Um, sure, Selene," Haley murmured quietly.

"God loves us all so much," Selene sighed dreamily. "He takes care of us, and He is always there for us."

"Yeah, well, He wasn't there when my parents died," Haley snapped, feeling her frustration start to bubble over from the past day and a half. Her voice kept rising higher and higher as she continued speaking. "He wasn't there to stop my dad from dying in that car crash, and He wasn't there two days later when my mom blew her brains out with a fucking pistol. And, most importantly, He wasn't there when I was begging Him to make me feel better and bring my parents back. He wasn't there when I cried for a month straight. If He really does love all of us, then He obviously must not know I exist, because if He did, He'd make my parents alive so we could live together happily, and I wouldn't have to ruin five other people's lives with my presence. He's never been there for me."

Haley was surprised that she had managed to say that so clearly, as she was sobbing so hard her lungs were starting to ache. Mrs. Brooks was turned around in the passenger seat and looked at Haley with sad eyes, as did Selene. She buried her face in her hands and allowed herself to keep crying for the duration of the car ride. From there, she jumped out of the car and ran up to her bedroom, where she cried hysterically until she had nothing left to cry, just slight whimpers and hoarse screams. After she lay in bed for a while, controlling her breathing, she grabbed a tissue and wiped her eyes and blew her nose. She sat on the edge of her bed, her back to her door, and stared at the ground for a while.

Haley nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt someone crawl onto her bed behind her. She didn't turn around to see who it was, even when they crawled up right behind her and held her close in a comforting hug.

"God is just some bullshit façade, isn't He?" the person whispered. Haley's eyes widened in shock when she recognized the voice as Phil's. She turned her head to see his face next to hers. He gave her a short, sad smile. She turned her body so she faced him, and he sat pretzel-legged across from her, their knees touching slightly.

"Why are you in here?" Haley whispered, her throat sore from crying. "You hate me. You don't want me in your family, and you don't want me in your life, so why are you here?"

"I don't know," Phil confessed. "I guess hearing a girl cry for three hours straight gets to you eventually, even if you want nothing to do with her."

Haley glanced at her clock in disbelief. Had she seriously cried three hours straight?! "Wouldn't that give you some sort of sick satisfaction, though? Me crying, all alone in here, mostly at the hands of you? How could you feel bad about that?"

"I just said," Phil repeated, "hearing a girl cry for three hours straight gets to you eventually, even if you want nothing to do with her."

"If it makes you feel any better," Haley started, her eyes welling up again, "I'd much rather be with my parents than messing up your life here."

"Yeah, well, that's kind of impossible, isn't it?" Phil grunted. "So, I guess we'll both just have to accept the fact that you're a part of this family now, whether we like it or not."

"I like it," Haley hissed, "You're the only one with a problem."

Phil sighed and used his thumb to wipe away Haley's fresh set of tears. "I think I can get used to you living here," he finally sighed. Haley perked up, despite the tears still falling down her face.

"Do you really mean that?" she asked, hopeful. Phil gave her a slight nod.

"It's not gonna happen overnight," he warned. "Who says I won't get pissed later and be an ass then? We'll take it day-by-day and see how things go. Alright?"

"More than alright," Haley said, giving Phil a small smile. She surprised her adoptive brother by leaning forward, taking his face in her hands, and placing a small kiss on his cheek. "I'm an interesting person if you give me the chance to show you."

"I've already heard some things from my mom and Selene," he mumbled.

"Are they mad at me?" Haley asked suddenly. "I mean, I kind of freaked out on Selene. I didn't mean to, honest. I kind of have explosive anger problems. And I don't believe in their Catholic beliefs. Are they going to send me back to the foster home?"

"They would never send you back," Phil assured her. "Trust me, they wouldn't. They love you like you're their own flesh and blood. And as for Selene, she felt better after my mom explained to her the situation, and now Selene's just worried about you. They're all worried about you, actually. I was the only one balls-y enough to come in here."

Haley breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Well, thank you, Phil. I appreciate it. So, before I start crying again, what's for dinner?"

Phil snickered gently. "Mom's calling for take-out. I think she's getting pizza or Chinese."

"Sounds good," Haley commented, feeling the effects of crying through lunch weighing on her. "I, um… Do you know if your mom has a backpack or anything for me? I don't have anything for school tomorrow."

"I wasn't supposed to tell you," Phil started in a whisper, "but after dinner, you're going to be getting a few welcoming gifts. Come on, do you wanna use my laptop while I talk to my friend, Adam? My dad said he'll give me fifty bucks if he sees me being nice to you, and I really wanna get some new comic books."

"If you don't mind," Haley answered, sliding off her bed and following Phil after grabbing her flash drive. He opened the door to his bedroom. She took in the posters of Batman and other superheroes, the large, messy bed, the desk, and other things thrown around messily. She took a seat at his desk while he pulled out his expensive-looking cell phone and called his friend. She turned the computer on and waited for it to load. Once she had logged on, she started the Firefox browser and went to her e-mail account.

_Dear Riley,  
You told me to e-mail you ASAP, so here I am! My new family is very welcoming so far, except for Phil. He's being a real jerk. I hope he warms up to me soon. It's so stressful coming into some strange family and having to deal with the fact that this is my family now, too. It's really overwhelming, and I've cried so many times. I hope by the next time I e-mail you, I'll have adjusted some more.  
What's the status of your paperwork with the Orton family? I know you wanna be a Birmingham for as long as you can, but I know how much you're looking forward to becoming an Orton, too! I hope you're not too lonely at the foster home. I miss MA a lot. Did you know NOBODY here says "wicked" in the way we do? And, they have no idea what a clicker is. They just call it a remote control!  
TTYS! – Haley_

Haley sent the e-mail before plugging in her flash drive. All of her photos popped up, and she went to the "Family" album. Photos of her mom and dad alone, together, and with her popped up. She clicked on one of the two of them together and smiled sadly. She shut all of the windows and turned the laptop off before shutting the screen. Phil was still on the phone when she snuck out of his room and went downstairs. She put the lanyard around her neck so she wouldn't lose the flash drive. Mrs. Brooks was in the kitchen talking to Selene, who sat at the counter.

"Can I have something to drink?" she asked, interrupting them once they both were silent for a moment. They both turned to look at her.

"Honey, you don't have to ask to eat or drink anything," Mrs. Brooks explained. "This is your home, remember? You can eat or drink whatever you want, whenever you want. Well, minus the alcohol, but I think you already knew that."

Haley left them to finish their conversation while she walked over to the refrigerator and took a juice box out. She stuck the straw in the top and took a long sip.

"Haley, why don't you sit next to Selene?" Mrs. Brooks suggested. Haley did as she said, and sat next to Selene at the counter. She still had the braid in her hair from when Haley had done it earlier. She sipped at her juice while Mrs. Brooks talked.

"So, Haley, are you excited about starting school tomorrow?" she asked.

"I'm a little scared, to be honest," Haley admitted. "There are so many new things I have to adjust to so quickly."

"Nobody's rushing you, dear," she murmured comfortingly. Haley rubbed her swollen eyes tiredly. "Haley, what religion were you brought up with?"

"I wasn't," Haley answered. "I mean, I celebrated Christmas and Easter, but it was mostly just as a family thing. I've never been to church, either."

"Well, we're not asking or forcing you to convert to Catholicism," Mrs. Brooks began, "but we'd still like you to attend Church with us, and respect our beliefs."

"I wouldn't dream of disrespecting your beliefs, Mrs. Brooks," Haley assured her.

"Okay, honey. I believe you. Now, let's order dinner. Do you like Chinese, Haley?"

"Yes," she said with a smile.

"What would you like?" she asked, sliding a menu over to her. Haley didn't need to look.

"Pork fried rice," she smirked.

"What else?"

"That's all."

Mrs. Brooks gave her an odd look before smiling herself. "Okay, honey. That was easy enough."

* * *

#^#^# **After Dinner** #^#^#

"Before anyone leaves this table," Mr. Brooks began, "we would like to give Haley some welcoming gifts."

Haley executed looking surprised quite well. "Me? You didn't have to get me anything."

"We wanted to," Mrs. Brooks said, walking over with a huge box filled with wrapped items. Haley's eyes widened when she saw what Mrs. Brooks was bringing over. After she set it down, Haley pulled a wrapped gift out slowly and ripped the paper off neatly before disposing of it in the box. In her hands was a lime-green JanSport backpack. It felt ridiculously heavy.

"Oh my god, do you have a body in here?" Haley joked, which made everyone, especially Phil, laugh loudly.

"Well, it's not a body," Mrs. Brooks started, laughing, "but open it up."

Haley set it on the table and unzipped it. Inside were binders, folders, notebooks, a pencil case with pencils, pens, and erasers in it, dividers, and two packages of loose-leaf paper. "Wow! This is all I need to start school! Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome, honey," Mr. and Mrs. Brooks said. Mrs. Brooks continued with, "There are still a lot more in this box. Why don't you open them now?"

Haley stuck her hand in the box and pulled out the first thing she touched. It felt soft and heavy. Wrapped inside was a make-up pouch, and inside the pouch were mascara, eye shadow, eye liner, and various other cosmetic items. She grabbed a box-shaped item to find a hair brush, small toothed comb, wide toothed comb, a yellow loofah, some hair elastics and clips, a new toothbrush, a stick of deodorant, and a bag of 3-blade disposable razors.

"This is so much!" Haley exclaimed, looking at all that she had in front of her so far. There were still a few items in the box. "Thank you!"

"Keep going," Selene encouraged. She handed her a small, box-shaped item. "This one next!"

Haley took it from the young girl and ripped the paper off. Her eyes widened in complete surprise when she saw a box for an iPhone in her hands. "Oh, wow! You didn't need to get me a cell phone! And such an expensive one at that!"

Mr. and Mrs. Brooks, Mike, and Phil held up their iPhones nearly simultaneously. "I think it's a Brooks' thing," Mr. Brooks said, smiling. "It's also cheaper than getting each of them a phone and an iPod. It's like killing two birds with one stone."

Mike pulled a large, heavy gift out of the box and set it in front of her. She tore the wrapping paper off and, once again, stared in awe at the gift in front of her.

"A Mac laptop?" Haley exclaimed, completely surprised by the gift. "I don't know what to say!"

"You said you like to write, so that was even more of a reason to get you this," Mrs. Brooks explained. Haley looked at her gratefully. She took another gift from the box and opened it. A photo frame with a picture of her new family sat inside. It was taken professionally outside somewhere.

"This is so neat," Haley said, running her finger along the black frame briefly. Inside the remaining presents were a few iTunes gift cards, five paperback books, and a package of colorful socks.

"This is better than Christmas. Thank you so much. I don't know how I can repay you or thank you enough!" Haley exclaimed happily. She went around the table, giving everyone a hug, even Phil. With fifty dollars on the line, he hugged her back briefly.

"We're glad you like it, Haley," Mrs. Brooks smiled. "You thanked us enough both with words and your facial expressions. We love you, Haley. Welcome to the family."

* * *

**A/N: **Hope you enjoyed. Please Review! :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any WWE Talent or any of their families. I only claim ownership to my OC's.  
**Rated:** T  
**Warnings:** slash, het, AU, OC lead, explicit language, violence, mature themes, etc.  
**Before You Read:** Sorry this update is so late! I've been super busy, ugh.

* * *

#^#^# **Monday Morning (6:13 am)** #^#^#

Someone shook her awake. Haley opened her eyes tiredly and looked up to see Phil shaking her, looking exhausted himself. "It's time to wake up for school," he announced, his voice groggy. "Mike said if we're ready by seven he'll drive us so we don't have to take the bus."

Haley yawned and rolled out of bed. She went to her dresser and pulled out the grey sweater, a pair of neon pink socks, some fresh underwear and bra, and the second pair of skinny jeans from Hollister. She quickly shut her door and changed, leaving her dirty clothing in the hamper. She brushed her hair and put on some mascara and lip gloss before tying a green ribbon into a bow and attaching it to a piece of her hair. She took her toothbrush and backpack to the bathroom and hastily brushed her teeth while sliding her feet into a pair of worn-out, hand-me-down moccasins. Afterwards, she ran back upstairs to drop off her toothbrush and pick up her jacket before quietly going down into the kitchen. Mike was sitting at the kitchen table with a bowl of cereal in front of him. She waved to him before dropping her backpack near the table and going to get the box of Cheerio's from the cupboard over the stove. She stood on her tip-toes, but still came nowhere near close enough to open the cupboard door.

"Need help, midget?" Phil snickered, walking through. He, with ease, opened the door for her and got down the box of Cheerio's.

"Thank you," Haley murmured tiredly. She got a bowl and a spoon and joined Mike at the table. She listened to Mike and Phil bicker while she inhaled her cereal. Discreetly, under the table, she popped open a pill bottle and fished an oblong-shaped pill into her hand. When neither of them was looking, she threw it into her mouth and swallowed it down with some of the milk in her bowl. She screwed the cap back on and stuffed it into the pocket of her jacket. Afterward, she put her empty bowl in the sink, rinsed it quickly, and put her backpack over one shoulder. Mike and Phil were just finishing up, too.

"Come on, kids," Mike joked, grabbing his car keys, "I have to get Lucy, too."

The three went to Mike's car. Phil made a motion like he was going into the passenger's seat, but Mike beat him to the punch. "No way, buddy. Lucy gets that seat."

He groaned loudly and got in next to Haley. He ignored her in favor of his iPhone. She still hadn't set hers up. It was currently charging next to her bed, like the instructions told her to do.

Mike drove for a few minutes until he pulled up in front of a nice house. A pretty brunette girl left the front door with an oversized purse on one shoulder and a travel mug in one of her hands. She put it up to her bright red lips as she walked towards the car.

"Hi, Mikey!" she said happily as she slid into the car. She gave him a quick kiss on the lips before setting her purse on the ground and putting her mug in the cup holder. She turned around. "Hi, Phil. And hi…"

"Haley," Mike finished for her. "Remember how I told you my parents were adopting? This is the girl."

"Hi, Lucy," Haley said, smiling. She returned the smile before facing forward again.

Haley half-listened while the two up front talked. She felt her stomach in her throat when Mike finally pulled into the high school parking lot and parked his car.

"Phil, will you take Haley to the office?" Mike asked, grabbing Lucy's hand. "She needs to pick up her schedule and shit, and I doubt she knows where it is."

"Why don't you?" Phil shot back, turning his phone off and shoving it into the pocket of his jeans.

"Me and Lucy have to talk to the other Student Council members before first bell," Mike explained hurriedly. "Just do it or I'll tell Dad about it."

"Fine," Phil groaned, pulling Haley along with him. She squeaked with the force he pulled her.

"Are the people here nice?" Haley worried quietly.

"Well, they're not nice to me, seeing as I'm the resident nerd," Phil muttered. They entered the main lobby and Phil led her over to the front desk. "Hi, Ms. Brown. This is my adopted sister, Haley Brooks. She's here to pick up her schedule and what-not."

"Thank you; you go on to class now, I can take care of her."

"See you at 1:30 outside of Mike's car," Phil said, hurrying off down the hall. Haley looked at the secretary nervously.

"There's no reason to worry," Ms. Brown assured her, seeing the fear in her eyes. "Take a seat over there, and I'll call the guidance counselor down."

Haley did as she was told. She set her backpack by her feet and stared at the posters and fliers hung up on the wall. Mrs. Brooks said school started at 7:30, so she assumed the bell would ring in five minutes. The guidance counselor came into the office and gave Haley a warm smile.

"Haley Brooks?" she asked. Haley nodded. "Come with me. We're going to head down to my office so I can give you your schedule and everything else."

Haley stood up and put her backpack back on her shoulders. She followed the woman down long hallways and down different turns.

"Take a seat," she insisted, sitting at her desk. Haley sat in a chair right in front of the desk. "I'm Miss Potter, your guidance counselor. There will be plenty of time to speak about your situation later in the week, but I want to get you situated with your classes first. Do you have any questions or concerns unrelated to school before we start?"

"No," Haley said shyly. Miss Potter opened a thick file on her desk and pulled out two stacks of paper – one of which she slid over to her.

"The first paper is your schedule," Miss Potter said. Haley looked at it.

_Monday -_  
_7:30-8:45 – English I_  
_8:50-10:05 – Geometry_  
_10:10-11:25 – Biology I_  
_11:30-11:50 – Lunch_  
_11:55-12:45 – Phys. Ed_  
_12:50-1:30 – Health_

_Tuesday -_  
_7:30-8:45 – Study Hall_  
_8:50-10:05 – World History I_  
_10:10-11:25 – French I_  
_11:30-12:20 – Creative Writing_  
_12:25-12:45 – Lunch_  
_12:50-1:30 – Art I_

_Wednesday -_  
_7:30-8:45 – English I_  
_8:50-10:05 – Geometry_  
_10:10-11:25 – Biology I_  
_11:30-11:50 – Lunch_  
_11:55-12:35 – Phys. Ed_  
_12:40-1:30 – Health_

_Thursday -_  
_7:30-8:45 – Study Hall_  
_8:50-10:05 – World History I_  
_10:10-11:25 – French I_  
_11:30-12:20 – Art I_  
_12:25-12:45 – Lunch_  
_12:50-1:30 – Creative Writing_

_Friday -_  
_7:30-8:45 – English I_  
_8:50-10:05 – Geometry_  
_10:10-11:25 – Biology I_  
_11:30-11:50 – Lunch_  
_11:55-12:45 – Phys. Ed_  
_12:50-1:30 – Health_

"Right now," Miss Potter started, "I'm keeping you from English class. Here's a little on how your schedule is: Monday and Friday are the exact same schedule. Wednesday is the same, except you get ten extra minutes of Health as opposed to Phys. Ed. Tuesday and Thursday are the same, except your electives are switched. Your adoptive mother told me that you like to write, and I was able to pull a few strings to get you into Creative Writing. All in all, I think you're going to have a great freshman year here, Haley. I know it's overwhelming at first, considering _everything_ here is new to you, but you'll adjust quickly."

"What are these other papers?" Haley asked.

"This next one is a map of the school," Miss Potter explained. "I threw it in here so you don't have to worry about asking upper classmen how to get to a class. They can be cruel if they feel up to it. And, before someone tries to convince you otherwise, we do not have a pool, there is no basement, and there isn't a third floor. Those are popular tricks they try to play."

"One of my adoptive brothers is a sophomore, and the other is a senior. I'm hoping they won't be too cruel to me."

"Me, too," Miss Potter smirked. "This next one is a print-up of all your locker numbers and combinations. Your locker is on the second floor. Speaking of floors, your English, Geometry, World History, and French classes are upstairs. The rest, including Lunch, are downstairs."

"Okay," Haley sighed nervously. "And these other papers?"

"Those are for your parents to fill out and sign. I think the top one might be the school's newsletter, but I'm sure one of your brothers has already brought it home."

"You'd be surprised," Haley mumbled sarcastically. "Is there anything I need my teachers to sign or anything?"

"Nope," Miss Potter said. "Just come by my office tomorrow morning before first period so I can check up with you and take any paperwork you've managed to get completed by your parent. Here, I'll walk you to your English class so you don't have to worry about being late."

Miss Potter stood up and started walking out the door. Haley quickly threw her backpack on her shoulder and followed her up the long staircase and down the hall. Before they arrived at a classroom, Miss Potter paused in front of a locker. "This is your locker. You'll have time between English and Geometry to fiddle with it, as your Geometry classroom is two down from your English one."

Miss Potter opened the door to the classroom and poked her head in. "Mr. Fernandez, the new student has arrived."

"Don't just block her way, now!" The round man said with a chuckle. "Class, this is our new student, Haley Brooks. Be nice to her or I'm sure Mrs. Waite wouldn't mind a visit from you."

All eyes were on her as Haley tentatively walked into the classroom and towards the teacher. "I'm Mr. Fernandez, honey. There's an open seat in the back next to Ashlee. Ashlee, stand up so Haley can find you."

A brunette girl stood up and gave Haley a friendly smile. She made her way through the aisle and sat down next to her.

"Hey, I'm Ashlee, as you could probably tell," she giggled. "And you're…"

"Haley," she finished.

"So, Haley, where'd you move from?" she asked, genuinely interested.

"I moved from Massachusetts. I lived there with my parents until I went to the foster home. I literally just got here in Chicago with my adoptive family on Saturday."

"Oh man, that must be a lot of stress, huh?" Ashlee spoke, blowing a huge bubble with her gum. After fishing a piece out of her pocket, she handed it to Haley. "Gum?"

"Thanks," Haley said, smiling, as she took the gum from her. She popped it in her mouth and chewed it a few times. "I'm so glad that I'm hitting it off with someone so soon after entering the school. I was terrified I'd be bullied or something."

"This freshman class is a decent group of kids," Ashlee informed Haley. "We don't start too much drama or fights. And the classes aren't too brutal, either."

"What class do you have next?" Haley asked the other girl. After blowing another bubble, she responded. "Geometry – yuck! I hate math."

"Me too," Haley said, smirking. "And cool; we have the next class together."

Ashlee peered at Haley's schedule. "And we have Bio together, too. My schedule gets a bit weird after that, so I won't see you the rest of the day. I'll see you in French and Art tomorrow, too."

"Phew," Haley joked, pretending to wipe her brow of sweat, "I won't be a total loner in half of my classes!"

Ashlee laughed raucously. The noise was contagious, which caused Haley to giggle along with her.

"Ladies," Mr. Fernandez warned from the front of the classroom. "Now, about William Shakespeare…"

* * *

#^#^# **Meanwhile **#^#^#

"So, you still hate your new sister?" Adam whispered to Phil. The two were sitting next to each other in Study Hall. So long as they were quiet about it, they could talk.

"I don't want her in my life," Phil murmured, "but I do feel bad for her, even if it's just a little. Both her parents died nearly a year ago."

"What's she like?" Adam asked.

"So far, she's quiet, shy, modest, and overly polite. A few times she's been sarcastic and a bit of a jerk, but that's my fault. She doesn't mind Selene being all over her constantly. And she won't call my parents 'Mom' or 'Dad'."

"When do I get to meet her?" Phil watched as Adam discreetly pulled his phone out and turned it on under the table.

"I don't know, dude," Phil answered. "If you're still coming over Friday night, you can meet her then."

"Yeah, I'm still coming. I can't wait for next week, either. Not only do we get three days off for Thanksgiving break, but it's Thanksgiving! Do you know what that means for my stomach?"

"Yes, I do," Phil laughed quietly. "I'm sure your stomach is waiting very impatiently for next Thursday."

"You have no idea," Adam muttered. His fingers flew across the keyboard of his Blackberry phone.

"Who are you texting?" Phil murmured.

"Jay," Adam answered, distracted.

Adam and Jason Reso were damn near attached at the hip. After weeks of questioning and being too shy to do anything, Phil finally cracked and asked Jay out for Adam. The smaller boy looked surprised, but, nevertheless, said yes. The two had been dating for nearly five months. The relationship was kept under lock and key, as the sophomore class was extremely homophobic for some reason. Phil didn't really care what his friend did, so long as he was happy.

"Well, wrap it up soon, Adam," Phil began, "because the teacher's getting a bit suspicious."

Adam reluctantly shut his phone off and shoved it back in his pocket. "At least we see him next period," he murmured.

"Oh, yes," Phil began, sarcastic, "the joys of physical education class. As if I thought I couldn't hate a teacher more than I already do."

"Just be thankful we don't have to run laps on the track," Adam chuckled dryly.

"If we had to do that, I wouldn't bother going to school except on Tuesday and Thursday."

* * *

#^#^# **Later (1:25 pm)** #^#^#

Haley looked up at the clock once again. She had a great day of school, and was most anxious about not making it to Mike's car on time. She and Ashlee had spent the first part of the day together, and Ashlee had snatched Haley's agenda book to write her cell phone number in it. She had told the brunette that since she didn't know her phone number yet, she'd text her first.

Now, Haley sat next to a girl she had Phys. Ed and Health with. Her name was Talia, and she was nice, although a lot more chatty than Ashlee.

"Do you have any gum?" Talia whispered when the teacher wasn't looking. "Mine lost its flavor like, ten minutes ago."

"Sorry," Haley whispered back, "I got mine earlier from someone else."

"Bummer. Kay, I'll just ask someone else," Talia said, turning to her right to ask the girl sitting there. Haley looked down at the worksheet in front of her in slight confusion. It was technically homework, but the teacher tired of teaching and handed it out early. Haley opened up her new textbook the teacher had given her and started looking for answers in the chapter.

No sooner than she had started filling the paper out did the final bell ring. She shoved the paper inside the book, and hastily stuffed it in her bag before jolting out of her seat and following the masses out the front door. Spotting Mike's car was easy enough, as Phil sat on the hood of the car reading a comic book.

"Hey," Haley said, interrupting Phil's reading. She carefully climbed up next to him and lay down on the car.

"Quiet," Phil hissed, turning his attention back to his comic. Haley did as he said and kept quiet. The two sat in silence for a few minutes until Mike walked over with Lucy.

"Hey, nerds, off my car!" he teased, getting into the driver's seat. Everyone followed in their respective seats as Mike drove Lucy home and then the rest of them home. The three exited the car and entered the house. Haley stopped in the kitchen to grab an apple before she ran up to her bedroom to complete her homework.

* * *

**A/N:** Hope you guys enjoyed :D Again, sorry for the late update. School is a bitch. Please review!


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any WWE Talent or any of their families. I only claim ownership to my OC's.  
**Rated:** T  
**Warnings:** slash, het, AU, OC lead, explicit language, violence, mature themes, etc.  
**Before You Read:** I've been really sick, so I apologize for the delay.

* * *

#^#^# **Later (3:45 pm)** #^#^#

A sudden knocking on her bedroom door made Haley nearly jump out of her skin. Selene slowly opened the door and greeted her with a smile.

"How was school?" Haley asked, looking up from her homework briefly. Selene hopped over onto the bed.

"Fun!" the fourth grader said with a smile. "Will you help me with my homework?"

Haley looked down at her final assignment, which was the health paper. "Sure, Selene. Let's go to the kitchen table and I can finish this worksheet while you do yours."

"Great!" she exclaimed, dancing her way down to the table. Haley followed with the textbook, paper, and a pen. While Selene completed the assignments she knew how to do, Haley wrapped up her homework. It turned out that Selene didn't need help so much as company while she did her homework.

"Will you come outside and go on the swings with me?" Selene asked sweetly.

"Let me put my homework away and then I will," Haley told her, before running to her room to deposit her homework materials on her bed. She grabbed her jacket, and, with the force she pulled it off of the desk chair with, the pill bottle went flying. Quickly, she snatched it up and stuffed it inside of her drawer under a pile of clothes.

"That was close," she muttered, buttoning the jacket and running outside to join Selene. She was on one of the two swings, going as high as she could get herself. Haley hopped onto the open swing and joined her new sister, light giggles and squeals emitting from the two.

"Bet you won't jump off!" Selene dared. Haley narrowed her eyes as a sign of showing Selene she was up for the dare.

"Oh yeah? Bet this!" Haley let go of the handles and launched herself in the air. It felt like time slowed down as she soared through the air and landed face first on the cold, hard ground. Her head make a sickening noise when it connected with the ground.

"Oh my gosh, Haley!" Selene exclaimed, slowing down her swinging and rushing over to her sister's side. "Are you okay? Please say something!"

Haley grunted to show she was conscious before slowly lifting herself off of her stomach. "My nose feels funny."

She turned her head towards Selene and watched as her face went pale. "What? Did I grow three heads or something?"

"No!" Selene screeched. "Your nose; it's all crooked! And how do you not feel the blood pouring from your nose?"

Haley reached a hand up to her face and, sure enough, felt moisture. "Damn it," she muttered. She slowly stood up. "Selene, can you get me some tissues?"

"Okay," Selene answered, running towards the house. Haley remained where she was and kept her head bent forward so she didn't get blood all over herself. Selene quickly returned with a huge wad of tissues, which Haley gently placed under her nose.

"Okay, Selene, can you walk beside me in case I get dizzy?" Haley asked, to which Selene immediately nodded and went to her side. She walked towards the house, and once inside, to the bathroom. She peered into the mirror and stared in slight horror as she saw her nose was, indeed, crooked. "Oh god. Selene, what do we do?"

"Sit on the toilet seat, Haley. I'll go get Mikey."

Selene hurried off, leaving Haley to sit on the toilet. She pulled the tissues away from her face. They were absolutely saturated with blood. Sighing, she tossed those into the trashcan and took some toilet paper to sop up the blood. Mike and Selene came down a few moments later.

"Holy shit! What happened to you?" Mike asked, gently touching Haley's nose. She let out a shriek. "Okay, we need to get you to the hospital. Dad's at work and Mom's at the store, so I'll take you. Selene, you're coming, too. Go get Phil."

While Selene went off to retrieve Phil, Mike helped Haley to his car. "What were you two doing – humping a rabid horse? Seriously…"

"Why do _I_ have to go?" Haley heard Phil protesting. Selene dragged him towards the car anyway. "I didn't break my fucking nose!"

"You have to go," Selene huffed, "because she's your sister and she needs your support."

"It's a broken nose, not brain surgery," Phil muttered, letting himself into the passenger's seat. "I'll call Mom and tell her where we are."

"At least you can be helpful. I was starting to think you didn't have it in you," Mike muttered sarcastically.

The ride to the hospital didn't take too long. Mike helped Haley out of the car and into the walk-in Emergency Room. They headed over to the triage nurse while Selene and Phil went to take a seat.

"Mike, I think I bled through the toilet paper," Haley said. Her voice sounded funny due to the fact she was squeezing her nostrils shut.

"We'll get you some as soon as we talk to the triage nurse," Mike promised, steering her towards the nurse. "Hello, ma'am. My sister took a pretty nasty fall and now her nose is bleeding profusely and is crooked."

"Alright. Are you over the age of eighteen?" the nurse asked. Mike nodded. "Okay, you can fill out this paperwork until your parents arrive."

"Mike, I don't feel so good," Haley whined slightly. She was starting to get tunnel vision and she felt really cold and clammy.

The triage nurse shot out of her seat and dashed over to Haley's side. She encouraged her to sit and put her head between her knees. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

Mike pulled over the small wastebasket and held it under Haley's face. She coughed a few times until she threw up into the bucket. Her vision became a little blurry before she blacked out.

* * *

#^#^# **Some Time Later** #^#^#

Haley opened her eyes slowly. It proved to be no easy feat, as they felt as if they weighed one thousand pounds. Finally, they opened completely. She took in her surroundings slowly. Her eyes ran over the white blanket covering her body from the torso down, the cold metal bars, and all of the medical equipment on the walls. Her eyes finally set on Mrs. Brooks, who sat in a chair with a concerned expression on her face.

"What happened?" Haley asked groggily.

"You broke your nose while on the swings with Selene earlier this afternoon," Mrs. Brooks explained. "Mike brought you to the hospital with the other kids. You started to get sick before you passed out. They had you in here when I finally raced over. While you were out, they set your nose into place and gave you some morphine for the pain."

"What time is it?" Haley asked, looking around for a clock. Mrs. Brooks looked down at her phone. "7:23."

Haley went to rub her eyes when she first noticed some plastic-feeling thing covering most of her face. She touched it, confused.

"It's a face mask of sorts," Mrs. Brooks explained. "You have to wear it for at least 48 hours, and then we can remove the mask part and just keep the nose part. It's like getting a cast for your arm or leg."

"When can we go home?" Haley asked sleepily.

Mrs. Brooks gave her a brief smile. "I'll tell the nurse that you're awake, and once the doctor comes in and discharges you, we can go home. It shouldn't take longer than an hour."

"Okay," Haley yawned. "How's Selene? She dared me to jump off the swing, but I don't want her to feel like it's her fault. I could have said no."

"She's fine," Mrs. Brooks assured Haley. "Everyone else is home now. After I got here, Mike took everyone back. What surprises me the most, though, is who was the most distraught about your injury."

"And that would be…" she trailed off, only managing to keep eye contact with Mrs. Brooks for a few seconds. Her eyelids felt extremely heavy again.

"Phil," Mrs. Brooks finished. "He didn't say a word, but I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was really worried about you. I told you he'd warm up to you sooner or later, honey."

"Yeah," Haley yawned. "Is that doctor coming soon, or can I take a nap?"

Mrs. Brooks gave her a smile. "I'll go get the nurse." She returned only a couple minutes later by herself. "I talked to the nurse, honey, and he said the doctor will be in shortly."

She was just about to drift off to sleep again when a young, male doctor moved the curtain out of the way and approached her bedside with a smile. "Well, well, well, it seems the brave, lion-hearted hero has awoken!" he joked, which made Haley smile. "She's free to go home now. Mrs. Brooks, she is going to be very groggy for a while from the morphine. Once that wears off, you'll know; she'll be awake and in a lot of pain. I'm going to write you a script for tramadol; twice a day for five days, preferably starting tomorrow morning. If possible, avoid giving her Tylenol or other acetaminophen products while she's on the tramadol, as the tramadol should help with her pain by itself. Afterwards is fine, however. The swelling will go down with ice. Doing that at least three times a day will help with swelling and other discomfort, but remember to put something, like a towel, between the ice and her skin."

"Thank you, Doctor," Mrs. Brooks said, shaking the man's hand. "Is there anything specific I should look out for?"

"You should watch for pain in her nose even after she's had medication, excessive bleeding that doesn't stop, and that sort of thing. Anything that would make you concerned if you saw it is really what you should keep an eye out for."

"Thank you again," Mrs. Brooks exclaimed, helping Haley out of the bed. She stood somewhat limp as Mrs. Brooks held her firmly. The doctor handed over some papers on broken nose aftercare and the prescription for the tramadol. She stuffed the papers in her purse so she could use both hands to lug Haley's nearly-sleeping body to the car. She slept the entire way home, even through Mrs. Brooks dropping off her prescription and picking it up beforehand. She left Haley in the car while she ran inside. The first person she saw was Phil; she told him to carry Haley into the house, as she wasn't as strong as he. Phil groaned and went out to the car. Haley was somewhat conscious.

"What are you doing?" Haley protested tiredly when Phil lifted her into his strong arms. "Why are you taking me away from the party?"

"Man, they really drugged you up, didn't they?" Phil muttered, climbing the first set of stairs.

"They wouldn't do that!" Haley exclaimed. "They're all really nice and wouldn't dream of drugging me…"

Phil didn't bother talking back. He pushed Haley's bedroom door open with his foot and carefully placed her body on her bed. She yawned and nearly sank into the comfort of her bed.

"Good-night, sleepy," Phil murmured. He pulled the blanket up to Haley's chin and gave her a soft, quiet kiss on the back of her head. "Sweet dreams."

"No, Phil," Haley whined quietly, "will you stay with me?"

"I really don't want to," Phil groaned. After listening to a few grunts of disapproval from Haley, he finally sighed loudly. "Fine; fuck it. I'll stay."

"Thank you," Haley cooed in a monotone voice. She heard Phil shut the door to block out the light shining from the hallway downstairs before he kicked his shoes off. The bed lowered as Phil walked on his knees to right behind Haley. He, too, crawled under the blanket and shut his eyes.

"Happy?" Phil grunted. Haley nodded. To show her thanks, she rolled over, kissed Phil somewhere on his face – she couldn't tell where, as it was so dark in the room – before rolling back over and falling right to sleep.

* * *

**A/N:** Again, sorry for the delay. Please Review!


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any WWE Talent or any of their families. I only claim ownership to my OC's.  
**Rated:** T  
**Warnings:** slash, het, AU, OC lead, explicit language, violence, mature themes, etc.  
**Before You Read:** Sorry for the late update!

* * *

#^#^# **Early Tuesday Morning (4:03 am)** #^#^#

Haley woke up to extreme pain in her face centralized in her nose. She couldn't remember much of what happened, other than she broke her nose. She tried to roll out of bed, but felt restrained by something. She turned her head to the side and saw Phil holding her tightly. His mouth was slightly open as he snored quietly in his sleep. She smirked and let her head hit the pillow again, opting to sleep instead of going to find some medicine for the pain.

After what felt like just blinking once, Haley felt Phil unwrapping his arms from her body and rolling out of bed. She turned towards him, and he stared back in surprise. "You're awake?"

Haley nodded. "My nose hurts."

Phil knelt back down on the mattress and gently inspected her nose. He touched the bridge of her nose, which, although covered, made her hiss in pain. "It's really swollen. Didn't Mom pick up a bottle of pain killers for you?"

"She might have," Haley answered. She pushed herself off of the bed and went to the kitchen. At her spot at the table sat a pill bottle. She took it in her hands and read the label, which stated she take this _tramadol_ medication twice a day. After grabbing a pill, she popped it in her mouth and swallowed it down. It was a little before six, so she decided she'd take a quick shower.

After gently bathing, she threw on the first pair of clothes she found and slid her feet into the moccasins she wore the previous day. Not wanting to bother drying her hair, she instead gave herself braided pigtails and attached ribbons to the ends of each one. Before she went downstairs to eat breakfast, she fished a pill out of the bottle in her drawer and stuffed it in her pocket. Having missed dinner the previous night, she wolfed down her bowl of cereal and, when nobody was watching, popped the pill into her mouth and swallowed it. Once she finished, she and Phil went out to Mike's car to wait for him to leave.

"Are you sure you want to go to school?" Phil asked her. "You know you can stay home today, right?"

"I'm fine," Haley insisted. "I just got here; I don't want to miss any school yet."

"Suit yourself," Phil said, shrugging. He stuck his ear buds into his ears and started blasting his music. Mike ran out of the house shortly afterward.

"How are you, kiddo?" he asked with concern. Haley shrugged her shoulders once.

"I feel okay," she said. Her voice sounded as if she was congested from the bandaging covering her face.

"Did you take your pain med?"

Haley nodded. "It's starting to kick in, too. My nose doesn't hurt as much."

"If you get too sick or too in pain, just go to the nurse. Mom wouldn't mind going to get you."

"Thanks Mike. I'll keep that in mind."

* * *

#^#^# **After School (1:52 pm)** #^#^#

The school day flew by fast for Haley. She was extremely relieved to only have small amounts of homework in History and French class. There was a Creative Writing assignment due in a couple weeks that she'd get started on after she set her new computer up. Otherwise, she couldn't wait to get home and take a tramadol pill. Her nose was damn near killing her.

"Bye, Luce, babe," Mike said, giving Lucy a good-bye kiss.

"Bye Mikey. Bye, Phil and Haley. See you tomorrow morning!"

Mike waited until she was inside her house before he backed out of the driveway and headed for home.

"Jesus Christ, Haley, your nose is swollen as hell," Phil commented. That was the first time he had looked up from his comic book since they had got in the car. Haley tentatively touched her nose and hissed in pain.

"Thanks, Phil," Haley said genuinely. "I know it's been hurting since, well, all day, I guess, but I didn't know it was swollen. I'll just take a tramadol when we get home and put some ice on it."

"Want me to keep Selene out of your hair today?" Phil offered generously.

"I don't think that will be necessary, but if that pain killer makes me drowsy, I'll take you up on that offer," Haley spoke. Phil nodded briefly before turning back to the glossy magazine pages.

A few more minutes in the car ended in Mike parking in the driveway. Haley grabbed her backpack and went into the house, stopping in the kitchen only for a pill, a glass of water, and a spoonful of peanut butter.

"What the fuck are you doing with that?" Phil asked with hysterical laughter coming out in the tail end of his question.

"You've never eaten peanut butter off of a spoon?" Haley asked him with confusion. He shook his head. "Wow, Phil, you're weirder than I thought you were."

"I know you are but what am I?" Phil mocked, heading off towards his bedroom. Haley followed before continuing on to her room. She took the pill and ate the peanut butter before starting and completing her homework with ease.

"Ah, shit, I forgot some ice," she muttered out loud. She shoved her school items into her backpack before running downstairs and grabbing an ice pack. Stopping in the bathroom to grab a washcloth, she went back into her room and wrapped the ice in the cloth before gently pressing it to the bridge of her nose. In that position, she succumbed to the exhaustion that rapidly hit her and shut her eyes.

* * *

#^#^# **Wednesday Afternoon** #^#^#

The school day flew by for Haley. She, along with Mike and Phil, went into the house and to their respective rooms. Haley had managed to complete her homework – all of it – during the school day. With a pain pill in her stomach and an ice pack in hand, she walked over to her new iPhone which was still charging on the floor.

She picked up the instruction booklet and the phone itself before lying down on her bed. She set the ice pack on the bridge of her nose and read through the booklet and following the instructions within. After less than twenty minutes, she had her brand new iPhone up and running. She fished through her backpack and pulled out her agenda book and programmed Ashlee's number into the phone.

_Finally got my phone up and running. Hope I'm doing this right!_

Haley managed to send the text and looked through the different features of the phone. She found herself in the Camera mode. She saw herself in the screen and noticed how red and swollen her nose still was. She sighed and set the phone down next to her before retrieving the box her laptop was in, untouched. It took her nearly an hour to completely set it up before she was finally able to start her Creative Writing assignment. No sooner than she had started, however, did a knock come from the door. The knocker let themselves in.

"Hi, Phil," Haley said after turning towards the doorway. He walked over to her bed and plopped down on the edge of it.

"I see you have your phone and computer on," Phil noted. Haley gave him a nod. "Want me to help you set up a Facebook?"

"A what?" Haley asked, confused. Phil sighed and turned the laptop towards him and typed something into the computer.

"Do you have an e-mail account?" Phil asked. Haley nodded. "Okay, so just fill out these forms and you'll be all set."

"Great, but what's it for?"

"Facebook is a social networking site. You can add people from all over the world. You can even add people you knew in Massachusetts. You can post statuses, photos, really, anything you can imagine. Everybody has a Facebook nowadays, so I figured I'd help you get in with the crowd."

"Since when are you one to follow the crowd?" Haley muttered. Nevertheless, she entered her information and set up her account. "How do I add people I know?"

"Just type their name into that search bar and look through the results," Phil explained. "Type my name in and add me. From there, you'll be able to find lots of people we go to school with."

Haley did as she was told until Phil pointed at his account. She hit "Add Friend". "So, we're friends now?"

"Let me get my laptop," Phil said, running downstairs. He came back a moment later with his laptop. "Okay… I just accepted your request. Refresh your page."

Haley refreshed the page and saw that Phil was her friend. He had a lot of pictures put up. "Jesus Christ, dude, how many photos do you have?" Haley asked as she clicked on a photo album titled "Profile Pictures". A whole collection of thumbnail-sized photos popped up, and she scrolled through them each briefly.

"That's nothing," Phil scoffed. "You should see the amount of pictures some of the whores and jocks at school have up."

"No thanks, I don't want to see tits, ass and dick," Haley muttered. That earned a laugh from Phil. Suddenly, her phone made a loud noise.

_Sorry for the late response. I was doing HW, blah! What's up?_

_That's okay, HW sucks! I just made a Facebook account. What's up with you?_

Haley turned her attention back to her computer, where Phil had snatched it from her. He was currently adding Mike as a friend for her. "Ew, why doesn't Mike have a single picture of himself with a shirt on?"

"Because he's one of those asshole jocks I was talking about earlier," Phil said with a snort.

_You're on FB?! Add me!_

"Phil, do you know a freshman named Ashlee Johnston?" Haley asked. Her fingers hovered above the touch-screen phone while she waited for a response.

"Yeah, why?"

"Can you add her for me?"

"Sure," Phil said. He quickly did so, and not thirty seconds later, the request was confirmed. "Do you have any photos of yourself you'd want to put up as a profile picture?"

Haley cast a look at her flash drive. "I have some on my flash drive, but they're all really old pictures."

"Well, we'll just take one now," Phil said. He opened up the webcam software on the computer and an image of she and Phil sitting next to each other on her bed showed on the screen. "Smile, you idiot."

Haley leaned in so she was in the frame a little better before she smiled. Phil threw an arm around her, pulled her closer to him, and smiled, too. He immediately took a picture, and then opened it up afterwards.

"You look like a fucking creep," Haley laughed. She slapped his arm gently. "Your face is screaming young-looking pedophile."

"Which is exactly why it's perfect," Phil smirked. He set it as her profile picture. A minute later, a small box appeared in the lower left corner of the screen. It said, "Ashlee Johnston liked your profile picture."

"That's cool," Haley commented. "It tells you when someone does something."

"Duh," Phil muttered. "It's not a notification or anything."

"Shut up," Haley said lightly.

_Ashlee Johnston commented on your profile picture._

"Click on it," Haley told Phil. He did as he was told.

_Cute picture Haley! xoxo_

"Aw, that's nice of her!" Haley said with a smile. "How many friend requests did you send out?"

"A few," Phil answered. "I sent one to my friend Adam, and a few to people you might know at school. That should help you out to start with."

"Thanks, Phil," Haley smiled at him. "You're actually a really nice brother."

Phil blushed at the comment. "Since when are you calling me your brother?" he asked.

Haley pretended to look lost in thought. "Since now," she answered with another smile.

Still blushing, Phil excused himself to do homework. Haley rolled her eyes and looked at her computer. She went onto Ashlee's profile page and looked through it for a while. Afterwards, she went to Phil's and looked through his. She browsed some of his photos before looking through his statuses. Her heart sank when she saw one from Saturday.

_Got a new sister today. Sounds like I'm talking about a fucking dog – in some ways, it's probably the same. Except I'd like the dog better._

Haley frowned sadly before closing out of Facebook. Instead, she started and somehow completed her Creative Writing assignment in less than two hours. With a sigh, she shut her computer down and set it on the floor next to her closet. She'd have to print it out later, but for now, all she wanted to do was get a new ice pack and put it on her nose; and, of course, forget about Phil's status on Facebook.

* * *

**A/N:** Please Review! :D


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any WWE Talent or any of their families. I only claim ownership to my OC's.  
**Rated:** T  
**Warnings:** slash, het, AU, OC lead, explicit language, violence, mature themes, etc.  
**Before You Read:** Drama filled chapter!

* * *

#^#^# **Thursday Afternoon (1:06 pm)** #^#^#

Haley started to feel herself sweat. It wasn't hot in the classroom, and she wasn't nervous or stressed out. She looked around in confusion to see if anyone else looked like they were overheating. When her teacher wasn't looking, she leaned towards Paula and tapped her elbow gently. The black-haired girl looked at her with a friendly face.

"Is it hot in here?" Haley whispered to her. Paula shook her head slowly.

"No, it's actually relatively cool in here. You look a little overheated, though; do you feel okay?"

"I feel a little clammy and tired, but this broken nose _has_ been making me exhausted," Haley explained. "Anyway, thanks, Paula. I just hope I'm not getting a cold or something."

"Me too," Paula responded quietly before turning back to her assignment. Haley wiped the sweat from her forehead discreetly and turned back to her assignment which she had already completed. She sat anxiously in her seat until the bell rang. When it did, she shot out of her seat and after shoving her things in her bag, dashed out to Mike's car. She got there before Phil did, which was rare. Sighing, she sat on the hood of the car and shut her eyes. After a few moments of silence, a heavy weight fell onto her abdomen and chest.

"What the hell?" Haley huffed in surprise. She found Phil's bony ass sitting on top of her while he nonchalantly read from a new comic book. "Phil, get off of me!"

He pretended to look around in shock as he locked eyes with her. "I didn't see you there," he lied poorly by smiling halfway through his sentence. Haley gave a slightly irritated laugh before punching his back to make him move. He finally did.

"Hey, losers," Mike called from a few feet away. Lucy wasn't with him.

"Where's Lucy?" Haley asked curiously. She went to school with them.

"She went home sick," Mike explained. "Said she felt like she had the flu or something."

Haley got into Mike's car and sat in silence until they got home. As they were going to their respective rooms, Phil stopped her in her tracks. "You don't look so well. Do you feel alright?"

Haley nodded rapidly and pushed past him. He threw his arm out to block her, which was a mere inch from hitting her fragile nose. "Sorry," he apologized. "You don't seem to be sure about that."

"I feel _fine,_ Phil," Haley groaned, finally pushing past Phil. She ran up to her room and set her bag on the ground before lying down on the bed. Amidst the feeling warm and profuse sweating, she started to get the shivers and a headache. All the while, her stomach was turning something awful.

By the time Mrs. Brooks got home from her 7-3 shift as a nurse, Haley's symptoms had broadened to include her muscles twitching every so often uncontrollably and being able to feel her heart race in her chest. As was customary with Mrs. Brooks, she came to check on each child when she came home. She knocked on the door, but Haley was too weak to call out and acknowledge her. She shut her heavy eyes and listened instead of watched.

Mrs. Brooks' footsteps rushed over to her, and Haley felt her hand on her forehead. "Haley, you look awful, honey! How do you feel?"

Haley managed to open her eyes and look at Mrs. Brooks. "I feel fine, Mrs. Brooks."

"Honey, your pupils are dilated," Mrs. Brooks started slowly. She moved her hand to Haley's wrist and felt her heart racing. "Your heart is _racing._ I'll be right back, honey."

Haley shut her eyes and listened as Mrs. Brooks ran down the stairs. She returned some time later – Haley didn't know how long – with a thermometer and Phil by her side.

"I asked her how she felt after school, Mom!" Phil explained. "She just looked sweaty earlier, honest! She didn't look this bad!"

Mrs. Brooks held the thermometer under her tongue. Haley's tongue twitched again, which it had been doing on and off for the past half hour. After a strange beeping noise, the end of the thermometer was pulled from her mouth.

"She's running a fever of 103.8," Mrs. Brooks announced with worry. "In addition to that, her heart's racing, she's shivering, sweating, twitching…"

Haley's consciousness slipped, and after a short while of everything being still and black, she found herself in someone's arms. People were talking so _loudly_ around her. She tried to tell them to be quiet, but her mouth wouldn't make the words.

"Is she gonna be okay, Mom?" Haley heard Phil's voice among all the others. His voice sounded different, but it was definitely Phil.

"Of course, baby," Mrs. Brooks' voice said. Suddenly, Haley was released from the protective arms and put onto a soft surface. A really obnoxious beeping noise kept sounding in her ear. She felt people rustling around her before someone's soft, comforting hands held one of hers protectively. She felt comforted by this touch and allowed herself to ignore the other noises in favor of submitting to the darkness again.

* * *

#^#^# **Meanwhile…** #^#^#

Phil watched in complete horror as his mom pulled the thermometer from Haley's lips, and after she read her temperature, her whole body started convulsing.

"Oh my God, Phil; she's having a seizure! Call an ambulance!" his mom said with absolute panic in her voice. Phil shakily felt in his pocket for his phone before he pulled it out and called 911. He explained the situation to the person on the other line before her soothing voice told him the paramedics would arrive shortly. Phil shut his phone off and let it drop onto the floor somewhere. He couldn't concentrate on _anything_ while Haley convulsed on the floor so helplessly. He wanted nothing more than to lift her into his arms and make his sister feel better.

_His sister._ Phil couldn't believe that in less than a week, he had accepted this girl as his sister. However, his thoughts at the moment were far from that.

"Mom, what do we do?" Phil asked. His voice cracked and he felt tears start to pool in his eyes.

"We can't do anything until she's done seizing," Mrs. Brooks said. She rubbed her hand along his arm and pulled him close to comfort him. In the arms of his mother, he started to cry.

"I love her, Ma," Phil confessed. "I love her like she's always been a part of this family. I don't want to lose her so soon after we got her."

Mrs. Brooks placed a few kisses on the crown of his head. "She loves you too, Phil; in fact, I think she looks up to you and admires you more than anyone else in this family."

Phil continued crying quietly until Haley finally stopped convulsing. At the same moment, three paramedics let themselves into the spacious room.

"We don't need the board," one of them declared. The same paramedic bent down and took Haley into his arms. She didn't stir.

"Sir, I can carry her," Phil nearly pleaded with the paramedic.

"It's alright, kiddo; I've got her," he assured Phil. Not completely assured, Phil raced down the stairs after the paramedic and followed him outside to the ambulance.

"Is she gonna be okay, Mom?" Phil asked through his tears. In passing, his mother responded, "Of course, baby." She raced past him and let herself onto the ambulance next to Haley, where she now lay on a stretcher.

"I wanna go," Phil said. He tried to pull himself into the back of the ambulance before his mother stopped him.

"Phillip, I need you to stay home, okay? Selene is going to be home soon and she'll be more comfortable around you."

Without another word, the doors to the back of the ambulance shut and the ambulance sped away. Phil fell to his knees and allowed himself to cry out his fear to anyone who was listening. He tugged at the grass and ripped it up in huge chunks.

Suddenly, he felt a small hand on his back. "Phil, what's wrong?"

Phil looked up with sad, watery eyes and saw Selene looking at him with concern. "It's nothing, Selene," he murmured hoarsely. "Come on; let's go do your homework."

* * *

#^#^# **Later** #^#^#

Haley opened her eyes very slowly to find a similar environment from earlier in the week around her. This time, however, she had a tube running from her hand to a bag above her bed, she was in a hospital gown, and she was all alone in her own room.

At that moment, a nurse happened to pass by the room. Their eyes met, and the nurse came into the room. "How are you feeling?"

Haley evaluated her body briefly. "I feel horrible," she admitted. Her voice was still groggy and strained from not being used.

"Your mother went down to the cafeteria to get something to eat," the nurse informed Haley. She gave her a brief nod before resting her head against the pillow on the bed. Nearly a half hour of silence later, Mr. and Mrs. Brooks came into the room together. They both lit up when they saw she was awake.

"You gave us quite the scare, Haley," Mrs. Brooks chuckled nervously. "They say you're feeling better, though."

"What happened?" Haley asked. Her voice still sounded confused and dazed.

"You got really sick and had a seizure," Mrs. Brooks explained.

"We're waiting on the lab tests to see if there's anything wrong," Mr. Brooks said. They both looked equally as concerned about her. A rush of guilt surged through her body when she realized she was putting these kind people into so much panic by ending up in the hospital two times in one week.

"Sorry," Haley managed to say slowly. "I hope I didn't scare you."

"It's okay," Mrs. Brooks murmured. She gave Haley a reassuring smile. "As long as you're okay, that's all that matters."

Haley nodded before she went silent for a while. Mr. Brooks' phone went off in the middle of this.

"Ugh, it's that boy again," he grunted, getting up and answering the phone. "… No, Phillip, I told you that you're staying home with Selene! … You'll see her when we take her home. … Phil, I don't have time for this."

He hung his phone up and shoved it into his pocket. "It's that damn boy wanting to get over here."

A man who looked like a doctor stepped into the room. "Good evening, everyone. The lab results came in, and we received some interesting results. I know, Mrs. Brooks, that you told us Haley is on tramadol after breaking her nose. What we _didn't_ expect to find, however, was a stable level of sertraline in her system as well."

The monitor to Haley's left indicated that her heart nearly stopped in fear.

"What does that mean?" Mr. Brooks demanded of the doctor.

"It means, sir," he began, "that Haley regularly takes Zoloft, which is an antidepressant."

"That's impossible," Mrs. Brooks began before turning towards Haley. "Haley, do you have anything to tell us?"

Haley looked down and kept her mouth shut. They looked at her for a short while before turning back to each other with sighs. "What I'm going to do is keep her overnight," the doctor explained. "I'm doing this mostly due to the fact she just had a seizure, and somewhat to find out why she has sertraline in her blood."

"Alright, Doctor," they said in near unison. Haley hung her head lower and refused to meet anyone's gaze as the doctor asked them to leave.

"Haley, why do you have Zoloft in your blood?" he asked slowly, gently, and quietly.

"I didn't want to freak them out," Haley explained slowly and weakly. "I've been diagnosed with anxiety and depression and didn't feel like being a hassle with my medication and doctor's appointments, so I self-medicated."

"That's never a good idea," he explained. "For instance, you don't know what medication interacts with the sertraline. Your tramadol did, and now you've gone through serotonin syndrome. You're very lucky that nothing more serious happened."

Haley nodded and looked down again. "I'm going to go talk to your parents, okay? Why don't you get some rest?"

Haley felt like she didn't have a choice on that matter. Yet, since she was exhausted anyway, she fell asleep.

* * *

#^#^# **Later (at home)** #^#^#

The front door opened quietly so as to not disturb Selene, who was sleeping upstairs. Phil sat at the kitchen counter on a barstool with a tissue clutched tightly in his hand. He had done his best not to think about what happened earlier while Selene was awake, but since she had gone to bed nearly an hour ago, he had been crying up until a few minutes ago when his tears ran dry. His mother walked into the kitchen first, and he looked up at her expectantly. She looked exhausted.

"Is Dad bringing her in?" Phil asked quietly. His mother shook her head.

"They're keeping her overnight at the hospital," she explained with a sigh. Seeing Phil's face contort with anger after she said that, she added, "I'm sorry, Phil; if we had known, I would have come home to bring you over for a while. She'll be home by the time you get home from school tomorrow."

"Why did she have the seizure?"

His mother paused. "They're not totally sure," she lied poorly. "We'll have definite answers tomorrow. Maybe Haley can tell you about it when you get home from school."

"Oh, Mom, I forgot to ask you earlier, but can Adam come over tomorrow to spend the night?" Phil asked.

"Sure," his mother said with a small smile. She kissed the crown of his skull. "Maybe having Adam over will get your mind off of things."

Phil gave his mother a slight nod before standing up. "I'm gonna take a shower before bed. Good-night."

"Good-night, baby," she said.

Phil raced up the stairs and started the shower. Once he was fully stripped and under the hot stream of water, he started to cry as loud as he could. The noises of his cries were muffled completely by the water hitting the shower floor. After crying himself out again, he quickly washed up and stepped out of the shower. A towel wrapped around his waist, he put his dirty clothes in the hamper and went to his bedroom, where he fell backwards onto his bed. He picked up his iPhone and sent a text to Adam.

_Mom said you can spend the night tomorrow. See you in school tomorrow._

Before waiting for a response, he got up and quickly changed into a pair of Batman boxers. He'd had them for a few years, so they were a bit snug on him, especially in the crotch. Who said that was a bad thing, though?

He picked up the towel that had been wrapped around his waist and tipped his head forward to dry his soaking wet tresses. He flipped his head back up, and his tangled hair flew back and slapped his shoulders and shoulder blades.

_Cool – can I get a ride with you from school tomorrow? I'll bring my stuff to school._

_Sure. Mike doesn't give a shit. Night, dude, I'm beat._

Phil shut his phone off before he shut out the lights and crawled between his comforters. Soon after, he fell asleep.

* * *

**A/N:** Now you know what those pills have been that Haley's been taking! Hope you enjoyed, & please review!


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any WWE Talent or any of their families. I only claim ownership to my OC's.  
**Rated:** T  
**Warnings:** slash, het, AU, OC lead, explicit language, violence, mature themes, etc.  
**Before You Read:** Sorry about the late update!

* * *

#^#^# **Friday Morning (11 am)** #^#^#

"Here you are, Mrs. Brooks," Haley's doctor said. He handed Mrs. Brooks a stack of papers. "In there are just some papers on seizures. Also, I have referral forms so Haley can start seeing a psychiatrist. Haley, I want you to take it easy this weekend, okay? Don't overstimulate yourself, and if you get tired, get some sleep. Her chances of having another seizure are slim, since we've taken her off of the tramadol. You can take her home now."

"Thank you, Doctor," Mrs. Brooks sighed. She gave him a brief handshake before turning to Haley. She hung her head some. "Let's go home, Haley."

Haley got out of the hospital bed slowly and followed Mrs. Brooks with her head down still. She was embarrassed and sure that her adoptive parents were mad at her for keeping that from them. Once in the car, Mrs. Brooks finally started to talk.

"Why didn't you tell us about your Zoloft?"

Haley traced patterns on her denim-clad leg. "I don't know. I didn't want to be a hassle what with my appointments and medication. I figured I could self-medicate."

"You know that you're not being a hassle, now, right?" Mrs. Brooks asked quietly. Haley nodded. "I don't care if you have appointments every day. I just want you to be healthy, okay?"

Haley nodded and they remained silent for the duration of the car ride back. "Haley, I have to get back to work now. Will you be alright home alone until Phil and Mike get home?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Haley answered. She let herself out of the car and into the house. She locked the door behind her and went up to her room. She kicked off her shoes and took her jacket off before grabbing a pair of boxer shorts and a tank top. She changed before grabbing her quilt and going to the family room to lie on the couch. While she didn't fall asleep, she did rest until she heard the front door open.

"Hold on, dude, I just gotta run upstairs first," Phil's voice said. Haley listened as Phil ran up the stairs.

"Adam, dude, are you hungry? You can grab something from the fridge. You don't have to ask," Mike said.

An unfamiliar voice said, "Thanks, Mike. I never pass up an offer of food."

Haley heard Phil running down the stairs before he paused in the kitchen. "Mike, didn't Mom say Haley would be home when we got home?"

Mike must have nodded, because Phil said, "Then where the hell is she?"

"Bathroom?" Mike offered. She heard Phil groan.

"Come on, Adam, let's go watch some TV." As Phil said that, his voice got closer until he finally stepped into the room with a cute blond boy by his side. Haley pulled her quilt up to her chin.

"There you are, Haley!" Phil exclaimed happily. He ran over to where she laid on the couch and dropped to his knees before throwing his arms around her. When he pulled back, he brushed her blonde hair from her face and asked, "How are you?"

"I've been better," Haley murmured. Turning her face, she looked at the blond boy. "Who's this?"

"This is my friend Adam," Phil explained. After giving her a quick kiss on the forehead, he stood up again. "He's the guy I'm always talking about."

"Oh yeah," Haley said, remembering now. "Hi, Adam; it's nice to meet you."

"And you," Adam said politely. Phil tossed Adam the clicker, and he caught it.

"Put on whatever," Phil said. Adam went over to the other couch and sprawled out on it, while Phil opted to curl up at the end of the couch where Haley was lying down. Adam flicked the TV on and changed the channel to MTV2. A showing of _Jackass: The Movie_ was playing in a few minutes after the commercial break.

"What's _Jackass_?" Haley asked. Her voice still sounded slightly groggy as a result of spending the night in the hospital.

"_Jackass _is a bunch of guys who do stupid, insane stunts for fun," Phil explained. "Mom made us stop doing the stunts after I snapped my femur in two from a stunt gone wrong."

"She wasn't too keen on us doing it in the first place," Adam laughed. "Although, we did hide the fact that we did it quite well until we got injured."

"That kinda reminds me of when I was on the swings with Selene earlier this week," Haley giggled. She lightly tapped the cast on her nose. "She dared me to jump, and I did."

"I'm getting a drink," Phil announced. "Anybody want anything?"

"Can you get me a Pepsi, dude?" Adam asked. Phil gave him a nod. "Haley?"

"Could you get me an ice pack?"

"Sure," he smiled before running off to the kitchen. Haley sighed and slowly sat up. Her quilt, which had covered her earlier, now fell to just cover her lap. Phil returned with two Pepsi's and an ice pack. He tossed one to Adam and cracked the other open for himself before he handed the ice pack to her. She smiled her thanks towards him and gently pressed it against her nose.

"I'm Steve-O, and this is Wasabi Snooters."

"This dude is insane," Adam laughed. Haley watched as Steve-O made a line of wasabi sauce and snorted it. He threw up a few times onto his plate.

"That's so gross," Haley said between laughing. "Who does that?"

Phil suddenly popped up in his seat. "Hey, Haley, how are you feeling?"

She looked at him once. "I'm fine. I'm just really tired. My muscles are still a little sore from seizing."

"Wanna go copy them?" Phil asked. He had a devious look in his eyes. Adam got the same look, too. "Sure," Haley said with a smile. "Let me go put some clothes on."

"You're fine," Phil said dismissively. "Just go put on some shoes, 'cause we're going outside."

Haley did as she was told and returned wearing her jacket and moccasins. She had pulled a pair of flannel bottoms on over her boxer shorts, as it was cold outside. She followed the boys to the backyard.

"What are we gonna do?" Haley asked once she had caught up with Phil and Adam.

"We're gonna try 'The Blowback'," Phil explained. He held up a long, sturdy stick and handed one end to Adam. The two nodded at each other before running towards a tree. Once the stick hit the tree, the two boys fell backwards with grunts. Somehow, they managed to snap the stick.

Haley ran over to where they lay on the ground. Phil was clutching his hand to his body tightly.

"I'm real hurt," he groaned, rolling over onto his back. Haley bent down to examine Phil's hand. It was covered in blood.

"Ew," Haley breathed. "Phil, you have a nasty gash in your palm."

"Fuck!" Phil yelled out. "Adam, are you okay?"

"Yeah," Adam moaned from the ground. It took him a while to stand up and help Phil inside. "Is that gonna need medical attention?"

"No," Phil said quickly. He ran it under lukewarm water and hissed slowly. "Haley, can you get the first-aid kit? It's under the sink."

Haley bent down and retrieved the kit for him. She took out gauze dressings and layered them on the cut once Phil had patted it dry. Then she secured the dressings with a roll of gauze.

"I guess we're done copying them," Haley muttered sarcastically. Adam laughed.

"So long as Mom doesn't know how I got this cut," Phil mumbled. "What the hell do I tell her if she asks?"

"Um, the clicker fell behind the couch and when you reached to grab it, you sliced yourself?" Haley offered.

"Great," Phil said. "Just stop calling it a _clicker,_ please. Nobody here calls it that."

"You can take the girl out of Massachusetts…" Haley began. She didn't bother finishing her statement. "I'm gonna go to my room. See 'ya later."

"I'll come get you at dinner time," Phil told her. She gave him a nod before going back into the family room to grab her quilt. Afterwards, she went to her room and sat on her bed with her laptop in front of her. She quickly logged into her e-mail account to find an e-mail dated a couple of days ago from Riley.

_To Haley:  
Aw, I'm sorry Phil isn't being nice to you! What a jerk he's being, seriously…  
No news with the paperwork ATM. I'll keep you updated, though!  
Riley_

Haley smiled while she read the e-mail.

_To Riley:  
Good news – Phil's actually being nice to me! I haven't been living here a week and already I've broken my nose and had a seizure; can you imagine?! Hopefully I don't break further anytime soon.  
I hope that your Thanksgiving present will be some notice about your paperwork. It'd be nice to have a family before Christmas!  
Haley  
PS – Do you have a Facebook? If you do, add me!_

Haley sent the e-mail before going onto her Facebook account. She had many friend requests; nearly all of them were from people at school. She spent nearly a half-hour looking through the website before shutting her computer and crawling underneath her quilt and other blankets. She fell asleep quickly.

* * *

#^#^# **Thanksgiving Thursday** #^#^#

Mrs. Brooks had prepared a feast; on the table in front of them were a huge turkey, mashed and baked potatoes, squash, turnips, dinner rolls, broccoli, cranberry sauce, Niblets corn, string beans, stuffing, and gravy. Haley had a small amount of everything crammed onto her plate. As she was about to dig in, everyone started to hold hands. Confused, she grabbed Phil's hand and Mrs. Brooks' hand in hers as everyone bowed their heads and Mr. Brooks said grace. Haley opened her eyes and looked around awkwardly. She found Phil doing the same thing, and gave his hand a squeeze when they made eye contact.

"Amen," Mr. Brooks said. Everyone echoed him, and then Haley finally was able to start enjoying her dinner.

"This is awesome, Ma," Mike said. His mouth was crammed with turkey and broccoli.

"Not bad," Phil teased to Haley's right. Haley gave him a smirk.

"Oh, Phillip, I love you too," Mrs. Brooks shot back just as teasingly. Selene giggled around a dinner roll.

"Thank you, Mommy," she said once her mouth wasn't occupied with the warm, doughy bread. Mrs. Brooks gave her a smile.

Mr. Brooks gave his wife a nod and a smile. That was his own version of his thanks, as his mouth was full and probably would stay that way for the duration of the meal.

Haley swallowed the mouthful of food she had in her mouth before speaking. "Thank you Mrs. Br- uh, thank you, Mom."

Mrs. Brooks looked at her with surprise, as did everyone else. Embarrassed, she looked at her food before filling her mouth so she wouldn't have to speak.

"Oh, honey," Mrs. Brooks murmured happily. She got up from her seat and hugged Haley. Taken aback, Haley paused momentarily before returning the hug. "That's the greatest thing I could have hoped to receive for a Thanksgiving present."

Obviously, the moniker meant more to Mrs. Brooks than Haley had thought. "It's kind of hard to call someone else 'Mom' when I had a mother for nearly thirteen years of my life, and suddenly she disappeared. But I'm working on it."

"You take as long as you need," Mrs. Brooks assured her. Haley gave her a grateful smile before turning her attention back to her food.

After they had finished eating, everyone except Mr. and Mrs. Brooks went into the family room. Selene put on SpongeBob and happily sat in front of the TV.

"She's been waiting a long time for you to call her that," Phil murmured to Haley.

"I know," Haley sighed. "But it still feels like my real mother is out there, and calling and accepting another woman as my mother feels a little wrong."

"It'll take time," Phil stated the obvious. His attention flicked to the TV when SpongeBob started showing Squidward the correct bubble blowing technique.

"…then pelvic thrust – WOO! WOO! Stop on your right foot, don't forget it!"

"Selene, can you _please_ stop reciting every SpongeBob episode known to man?" Phil groaned. The girl giggled as she tried to bounce along to SpongeBob's bouncing to no avail. Haley looked on in amusement.

"Let her be," Haley smiled. "It's cute, and you know it."

Phil huffed before looking at his lap. He looked lost in thought. Finally, he looked up into Haley's eyes. "Hey, Hale?"

"Hmm?" Haley asked. She had been watching Selene when Phil finally decided to speak. "What's up?"

"I'm glad you're a part of this family. Actually, I'm really thankful that you are. I love you."

Haley smiled wide and crawled into his lap to hug him. "I love you too, Philly."

He returned the hug for a few moments. "Uh, Haley, you wanna get off of me now?"

She snorted and sat back down. "I'm just so happy that you feel this way, Phil!"

He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Yeah."

"Behind that rough exterior, Phil, you're just a big, cuddly teddy bear," Haley said. She punched his arm playfully.

"Let that information get out, and this teddy bear will cover your face while you sleep until you stop breathing," Phil grunted.

"On that note, I'm going to bed," Haley teased, although she did stand up from the couch. "Good-night Mike, Phil, and Selene. I'm exhausted!"

* * *

**A/N:** :) Please Review!


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any WWE Talent or any of their families. I only claim ownership to my OC's.  
**Rated:** T  
**Warnings:** slash, het, AU, OC lead, explicit language, violence, mature themes, etc.  
**Before You Read:** Sorry about the late update!

* * *

#^#^# **Monday Morning** #^#^#

Haley shut her locker door and found an unfamiliar-looking boy suddenly standing in front of her. She jumped, startled, when she noticed him standing there. He chuckled sweetly before giving her a half-wave.

"Hi, you're Haley, right?"

"Yeah," Haley responded. The boy was tall, muscular, and trim with long blond hair and a beautiful smile. "How did you know my name?"

He blinked his beautiful blue eyes once. "I know your brother. He's in some of my classes. He talks about you a lot."

"Phil or Mike?" Haley asked. He answered, "Phil."

"Phil always says that he doesn't have many friends other than Adam in school," Haley stated. "Are you one of his friends?"

"Acquaintance is more like it," the blond corrected. "I'm a pretty friendly guy, but he's incredibly stand-offish. Oh, and by the way, my name is Chris. I don't know if I said that before."

"Yeah, that's Phil," Haley's voice trailed off slightly. "And it's nice to meet you, Chris. Maybe I'll see you at lunch?"

"I have lunch with the majority of the freshmen today," Chris spoke smoothly. "So chances are, I'll see you there, and I'll sit with you. Okay?"

"Sure," Haley answered. A light blush pricked onto her cheeks as she watched Chris give her a cute smirk before turning and walking off to his next class. She was damn near close to jumping for joy and squealing, but decided against it when she remembered she was in school.

During lunch, Haley took her usual seat next to Ashlee as the two waited for Adam and Phil to get down to the lunchroom. After a few moments, Phil came through the lunchroom doors, followed by Adam and Adam's boyfriend, Jay. The two were secretly dating, though, so they never showed much affection towards each other in public. The trio sat down at the round table that Ashlee and Haley already occupied.

"Hey, girls," Adam greeted the two.

"Hey, guys," Haley and Ashlee said together. While everyone else started complaining about their teachers and the inevitable homework load steadily piling up, Haley scanned the cafeteria for Chris. If he had trouble finding her, she wanted to be able to help.

She saw him exit the lunch line with a bottle of Coke in his hand before he readjusted his backpack and scanned the lunchroom. Just as Haley was about to stand up and wave, they made eye contact, and his face broke out into a huge smile. She returned the expression and waved him over.

"Who are you waving over?" Phil asked. His bottle of Pepsi sat on his bottom lip before he took a sip.

"A friend I met today," Haley explained, watching Chris stride over to their table. Phil followed her gaze to find who she was staring at.

"You've got to be shitting me," Phil muttered. "Chris Irvine is your new friend? He's a total asshole."

"Doesn't seem like it," Haley shrugged Phil's comment off as Chris finally reached the table. "Hi, Chris! I was just about to come get you when you saw me."

He sat down between Ashlee and Jay – the only available seat – and unscrewed the cap on his bottle of soda. "Good thing I saw you, too, or I would have felt like a loser up there."

Haley giggled and noted Phil's eye-roll. "Chris, this is my friend Ashlee," Haley said, gesturing towards Ashlee. She gave a smile.

"Hey, Ashlee," Chris said with a friendly smile. "Hey, Philly, bro! Good to see you outside of the classroom, man. Same goes for you, Adam and Jay."

"It's Phil," Phil hissed under his breath.

"Oh-kay," Chris drew out. He sucked his lips into his mouth and popped them out afterwards. He busied himself by tipping his head back and taking a massive gulp of soda. Haley cut her gaze towards Phil.

"Be nice!" Haley mouthed in Phil's direction. He made a face before looking down. Haley elbowed him for good measure.

"I gotta take a leak," Chris announced suddenly. He capped his soda and shoved it in his backpack before standing up. "See 'ya, Haley."

Haley gave him a wave and watched him walk in the total opposite direction of the bathroom and out of the cafeteria. Haley turned to her right and glared at Phil.

"Why were you being an ass?" she asked.

"I don't like him," Phil stated. "He's cocky, arrogant, and so not a good person."

"Neither are we," Haley interrupted him. He waved his hand in her face before continuing.

"He's sixteen years old in sophomore year. Who knows when he stayed back – and for what? He misses a lot of school and plays every girl he goes out with. He's a bona fide tool."

"Maybe he has a summer birthday, Phil," Haley suggested, slightly angry. "Do you know his home life? It could be shitty. Or he could have some sort of illness that keeps him from school."

"Or he just doesn't feel like going?" Phil snapped back.

"What makes you think I'm going to date him, anyway?" Haley hissed loudly. "I'm not some fucking slut that dates every guy she walks past."

"I didn't say you were a slut," Phil shot back. "But I can see that you want to date him, Haley."

"You should get glasses, then," Haley yelled at him, "because you obviously can't see _shit._"

With that, she pushed her chair back and stood up. She shot one last angry look at her brother before putting her backpack on her shoulders and tearing ass out of the lunchroom. How _dare_ Phil think so lowly of her that she'd just pick up any guy without even _knowing_ them and start dating them?! Who knows what would happen once she knew the guy, but really? Her heart was racing and her breathing was rapid by the time she made it back to her locker. She angrily unlocked the door and slammed it open. She switched her books and binders before shutting her locker and focusing on controlling her breathing. If she let her anger get too out of control, she wouldn't be able to stop whatever might happen. Once her breathing was under control and adrenaline stopped coursing through her veins, she let out her breath slowly and brushed her hair out of her eyes. Chris was standing there.

"I'm sorry about my brother," Haley murmured. She tried not to get pissed all over again. "He sometimes gets his foot lodged up his asshole."

"It's alright," Chris said. He gave her a half-smile. "Besides, now we're away from him. We can talk while I walk you to your next class if you'd like."

"Sure. I have gym," Haley told the tall blond. He nodded and started walking the two of them towards the gymnasium. "So, Phil said you're sixteen. Do you have a summer birthday or something?"

"Nah, I got held back in kindergarten," Chris told her. "I wasn't developing as fast as the other kids, so my teacher and my parents decided I should stay back. Thank God they did, because now I'm smarter than all the kids in my grade."

"Phil was worried that you got into trouble or some shit, and that's why you stayed back," Haley muttered. She held her Health binder close to her chest. "He figured that was the reason you apparently miss school so much, 'cause you don't give a shit."

"Me, not give a shit?" Chris asked, pretending to be appalled. "I love school. He doesn't know shit about why I miss school from time to time. He should mind his own damn business and leave me the hell alone."

"I told him pretty much the same thing," Haley said. "I said that he has no idea what's going on with you, so he shouldn't judge."

"Well, thank you for that," Chris murmured shyly. They stood outside of the gymnasium. "It's nice to know that one of the Brooks' kids actually has a nice personality."

"I'm not actually a Brooks," Haley said while running a hand through her blonde hair. "I was adopted into the family a few weeks ago."

"Wow," Chris breathed. "That must be rough, huh?"

"It was at first," Haley admitted. "They're warming up to me, though, and I to them, so it's not so rough."

"That's good!" Chris said. He ran his hand through his own long, blond hair before cutely brushing away a fall-out strand of hair from Haley's face. He ran his thumb and index finger down her cheek as he pulled his hand away. "I guess I'll see 'ya around. Do you have a cell phone number?"

"Yeah," Haley said, blushing. Chris had his arm extended with a Sharpie sitting in his palm.

"Write it on me," Chris told her. She hastily grabbed the marker and uncapped it before writing her number on his forearm. She capped the marker and handed it back to him.

"I have a Facebook, too," Haley added.

"Sweet. I'll send you a friend request," Chris promised with a smile. He gave her a wave before walking away.

Not remembering how to function properly, Haley stood outside of the gymnasium door until the bell rang and people started rushing through the halls. She remained standing by the door, dumbfounded, until Talia approached her.

"What are you doing?" she asked slowly. She waved a hand in front of Haley's face. "Wake up, wake up, Hales!"

"I'm here," Haley said at last. Talia smiled at her.

"Come on, then; we have to get changed for P.E.," Talia told her. She grabbed Haley by the wrist and more or less dragged the other girl into the locker room. "You're acting pretty weird today."

"Yeah, no, I'm fine," Haley murmured. Her brain felt like it just came out of a blender. "Well, if I'm not fine, then I will be."

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry it's a short chapter! I'm having writer's block with this story and I don't have much written up left, so I don't want to give too much away. Hopefully the block will break and I can update with a longer chapter next time! Please Review! :)


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any WWE Talent or any of their families. I only claim ownership to my OC's.  
**Rated:** T  
**Warnings:** slash, het, AU, OC lead, explicit language, violence, mature themes, etc.  
**Before You Read:** This chapter is LONG. Because of this and the fact I don't have much else written up in advanced, the update for this probably won't be for a short while. Keep an eye out for it, though!

* * *

#^#^# **Later; outside of Mike's car** #^#^#

Haley walked blindly through the parking lot. Her eyes were focused on the phone in her hands as she texted Chris back.

"Watch where you're going, Haley," Phil's voice warned. She looked up and stopped herself from walking straight into Mike's car.

"Thanks, Phil; I didn't need another trip to the hospital," Haley joked. She climbed up onto the hood of the car next to Phil and continued texting.

"Who's got your attention pulled from the outside world?" Phil asked.

"Nobody," Haley said absent-mindedly. Phil narrowed his eyes, but she didn't see it.

"Is it Chris?" Following Phil's question came silence, which Phil took as an answer to his question. "I don't like him, Haley. I don't think he's good for you."

"You don't know him," Haley murmured. Her eyes remained locked on her phone.

"Neither do you!" Phil exclaimed, frustrated. "You met him – what, today? How can you know so much about him?"

Haley waved her phone around briefly before bringing it back down to her lap. Phil groaned loudly.

"Hey, creeps," Mike called cheerfully. "Get in the car."

Haley slid in the backseat next to Phil. Between answering Chris' texts, she listened to Mike and Lucy talk about some incident that happened in school. Before long, they were home.

"I'll be in my room," Haley announced before climbing the stairs and going into her room. She shut the door and dropped her backpack onto the ground.

_We should hang out this weekend. R u doing anything? – Chris_

_IDK yet. It's only Monday lol. I'll tell u when I know – Haley_

Haley grabbed her laptop from the ground and logged into her e-mail account. She had a few junk e-mails, and one from Riley.

_HALEY!  
My paperwork went through! I'm flying to St. Louis Friday night and getting there early Saturday morning. I'm finally joining my new family!  
Riley_

_Riley,  
That's great! I'm so happy for you! Having a new family of your own is amazing. You'll have to tell me EVERYTHING!  
Haley_

Haley smiled warmly at her computer as she sent the e-mail. She remembered how happy she was when she joined her new family. Riley would probably have a better time with her family and siblings than she was having with a certain sibling right now. Haley narrowed her eyes at the thought of Phil sticking his nose where it didn't belong. She shut her computer and set it aside and instead focused her attention on her homework, which she completed with ease.

_Ping!_

Haley looked at her phone, which had been set aside while she did her homework. She picked it up and saw the notification was from Facebook. It said that Christopher Irvine had added her as a friend. She accepted the request and looked at his profile. His picture was a shot of his face. His wide smile made her heart melt, and the way his hair framed his face so naturally sent shivers up her spine.

She didn't know how long she'd been staring at his photos before she heard someone knock on her door.

"Come in," she said, still mesmerized. The door opened slowly to reveal Selene on the other side.

"Hi, Haley!" she exclaimed happily. She ran over to Haley's bed and jumped onto it.

"Hey, Selene," Haley said just as happily. "How was school?"

"It was fine," she said quickly. "Do you wanna go for a walk around the block?"

"Isn't it freezing out?" Haley asked. Selene shook her head. "Alright, let me get my jacket and shoes on. I'll meet you downstairs."

"Okay!" Selene giggled. She ran out of the room and down the stairs as Haley got out of bed and wrapped a scarf around her neck before she pulled on her jacket. She threw on her moccasins, put on a pair of warm gloves, and stuffed her phone in her pocket before joining Selene downstairs.

* * *

#^#^# **Outside (3:57 pm)** #^#^#

"I've never seen the neighborhood before," Haley told Selene. When Selene had said it wasn't cold outside, she was definitely telling a white lie. Haley shivered like mad even being as bundled as she was. "Is it big? And don't lie like you did about the temperature."

Selene giggled. "Okay, I'm sorry for fibbing. But the neighborhood is kind of big. When Phil used to be cool and go on walks with me, it'd take us like, twenty minutes, usually, to walk it."

Haley blew a strand of hair from her face and briefly noticed the cloud of her breath linger in the air. "I hope this walk warms us up. I'm going to grow icicles from my eyelashes soon."

The two made idle conversation until they heard screaming come from a house they were about to walk past. Haley stopped in her tracks and signaled for Selene to do the same.

"You worthless piece of shit! Get the fuck out of my house, now! Out, you; shoo!"

The two shrunk back when the sound of glass breaking came from inside the house. A loud string of curses followed the noise before a teenaged boy came bombarding out the front door. Selene nervously grabbed onto Haley's hand, and she held it securely.

"Fuck you! You call yourself a father? You're nothin'! You're a piece of fucking shit! I hope you fucking rot in hell, you worthless fucking bastard!"

"What's going on, Haley?" Selene whispered nervously.

"I don't know," Haley whispered back. She was about to ask herself why the boy looked so familiar until he turned around.

_Chris?_

"Hey, I know him," Haley murmured to her sister.

"Get off of my goddamn lawn!" an angry scream came from inside the house. Chris threw up his middle fingers before he ran across the lawn and into the street before blindly stumbling upon where Haley and Selene crouched on the side of the road. His backpack cushioned his fall as he let out a string of curses at the ground. Their eyes met then.

"Haley?" Chris asked slowly. He looked extremely embarrassed when he realized they had witnessed the whole thing. "How long… uh, did you hear…?"

"It's okay, you don't have to talk about it," Haley murmured to him. He gave her a grateful glance.

"I didn't know you lived around here," he chuckled nervously.

"Likewise," Haley returned. "My sister, Selene, and I were just taking a walk. Do you wanna walk with us?"

"Sure," Chris said, relieved. He stood up and helped the two girls to his feet. "Hi, Selene, my name is Chris."

"Hi, Chris," Selene giggled. It was obvious she was still a little confused about what just happened, but her playful demeanor had quickly returned. "My favorite color is yellow, what's yours?"

"Red," Chris answered with a warm smile. "I used to like yellow when I was younger, but I change favorite colors so often I sometimes forget which one I like best!"

Selene giggled and skipped circles around Chris. "Me, too! Can we be friends, Chris?"

"Of course, Selene," Chris smiled. Haley smiled as she watched Selene bonding with Chris.

"'Lene, you have to lead the way, remember?" Haley reminded the younger girl. She grabbed her hand and dragged her forward a few feet before she let go and skipped off to whatever song she had playing in her head.

"About back there…" Chris began slowly.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Haley told him. He shot her a grateful glance, but continued speaking anyway.

"Thanks, but I feel like I should tell you anyway for some reason. That was my father. He gets kind of fucked up when he's drunk. He no doubt kicked me out again, but he'll probably forget about it after dusk. This may seem rude, but uh, do you mind if I go to your place for a while? It's really cold out and I'm sure I'm not going to be welcome for a few hours at best."

"Of course you can come over," Haley murmured quietly. She felt so bad for Chris. This must be why he misses school sometimes. "I don't think Mrs. Brooks would mind if you stayed for dinner, either."

"Is that your mom?" Chris asked. Haley nodded. "You don't need to feed me. Just inviting me inside for a while is generous enough."

"Knowing her, I don't think she'll let you leave unless you eat," Haley giggled. Chris smirked, despite himself. "And don't worry; I won't say anything about what just happened. Neither will you, right Selene?"

Selene nodded. "Haley and I have tons of secrets! I never tell them, either."

"She means it, too," Haley assured him. Chris' eyes shone his thanks at her, and she felt herself blushing. He was just so damn alluring.

"Here we are," Selene told them. She pranced down the long driveway and waited for them by the garage doors. "Chris, you can leave your backpack and shoes and coat out here if you want to."

Chris kicked off his sneakers and his jacket and left it in a neat pile next to his backpack. Afterwards, they went inside.

"God, are you two finally back? I swear, Selene, you must be the slowest walker on this planet," Phil's voice came from the kitchen. Haley glanced over at Chris and noticed him grimace slightly. She hadn't really thought about Phil being home, and clearly neither had he. "Come in here, 'Lene, I have to help you with your homework. Mom said so."

Selene groaned once before she dragged herself into the kitchen. Haley motioned towards the family room and led Chris in. Once her feet sank into the carpet, she instantly felt comforted. She sat down on the couch, and Chris sat on the cushion next to her. She tossed him the remote and curled her feet towards her body as she got comfortable. Chris shifted around some before he had his arm over the back of the couch and his feet tucked underneath him as well. He had put on some police show where the suspect had just been caught and they were putting handcuffs on him.

"What in the fuck are you watching, Haley?" Phil called from the kitchen. She heard his chair scrape against the floor and his feet bringing him to the family room. She made a face before turning around and watching his expression change when he noticed Chris.

"What's he doing here?" Phil scowled.

"I invited him over," she said simply. Phil stuck his tongue out at her and made a face.

"Did you just stick your tongue out at her?" Chris asked with a chuckle. "How old are you – six?"

"Fuck off, Irvine," Phil hissed. He flipped him off before going back to Selene.

"You have to ignore him sometimes," Haley muttered. "He PMS-es more than my mother used to; and trust me, she was a royal bitch once a month."

"Maybe you guys just ran out of manpons," Chris joked. Haley laughed out loudly.

"If he wasn't such a stubborn mule, he would have found that funny, too," Haley murmured quietly. She didn't want Phil to hear what she was saying. "I swear he's a nice guy. He's kind of, well, an ass sometimes."

"I know the type," Chris sighed once. He nonchalantly moved closer to her and dropped his arm around her shoulders. She found herself quickly shifting her body so she cuddled up into his side.

"You're soft," she said without thinking. Chris snorted once.

"Um, what?" he asked. He was trying as best as he could to hold back his laughter.

"You're so muscular," she explained slowly. She couldn't believe she had just said that! "I figured you'd feel like stone, not so soft."

"So you've been thinking about how I feel?" Chris teased her. She groaned loudly, which made Chris laugh.

"You know what I mean!" she groaned light-heartedly. Chris laughed again and brought her closer to him. He used the hand that was around her shoulders to gently stroke her hair.

"Yoo-hoo, anyone home?" Mrs. Brooks called from the front door. Phil made a noise from the kitchen. Selene giggled.

"Haley's in the family room with her boyfriend," Phil called loudly. Haley blushed beet-red and untangled herself from Chris' side. Chris immediately scooted back onto his cushion and casually watched the TV.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Haley screamed back at him. She shot Chris an apologetic glance. He returned with an understanding smile.

"Phillip, don't tease your sister," Mrs. Brooks scolded lightly. She came into the family room and smiled at Chris. "Hello! I'm Mrs. Brooks. What's your name, hon?"

"I'm Chris," he said with a smile. Mrs. Brooks returned the expression.

"It's nice to meet you, Chris!" she said. "Would you please stay for dinner?"

"Oh, I wouldn't want to overstay my welcome…" Chris began slowly. Mrs. Brooks silenced him with a shake of her head.

"Sweetie, I insist," Mrs. Brooks said. Chris gave her a slightly-wary smile before he agreed to stay for dinner.

"Wonderful," she said with a smile. "I hope you like lasagna!"

"That sounds wonderful," Chris said genuinely. Haley smiled at Chris and then her mom.

"I'm sorry to bring him over so abruptly," she said. "I don't know if you wanted me to call and ask if he could come over."

"No, honey, that's fine. You can have friends over without telling me," Mrs. Brooks said with another smile. "I'm off to cook dinner. If you need me, I'll be in the kitchen."

Once she left the room, Haley looked at Chris. "Wanna go to my room? Nobody will mind so long as we leave the door opened."

"Sure," Chris said. He got off of the couch and followed Haley through the kitchen and up the stairs. She ignored the glare she received from Phil and instead led Chris to her room. She shut the door and left it opened a crack.

"Nice room," Chris commented. Haley gave him a smile before she sprawled out on her bed. Chris sat at the edge of her bed.

"You can lie down if you want to," Haley told him. She moved over to give Chris some room. He lay down so his head was next to her feet.

"So, why were you adopted, if you don't mind my asking?" Chris asked quietly. Haley smiled sadly up at the ceiling.

"My dad died in a car crash," she explained. "Then, two days later, my mom shot herself. I didn't have any relatives to go with, so I went to an orphanage and then to a foster home. Eventually, the Brooks' adopted me. It was really hard losing both of my parents within days of each other. It was hard to be thrust into a family like that. I'm slowly getting used to it, though."

"I'm sorry about your parents," Chris murmured. "I can't imagine how rough that is. My dad's a drinker. He drinks so much now that he lost his job because of it. His boss didn't want a drunken employee; who can blame him? Now my mom has to work her ass off to pay the bills because my dad sits home and drinks all day. He's uh, not the nicest drunk either, as I think you could have gathered."

"I'm sorry about your dad," Haley said back. "He didn't sound like the nicest guy in the world."

"He's great when he's sober, but those days are far and far between lately."

Haley sat up and crossed her legs. Chris did the same.

"It doesn't seem like we've only known each other a day," Chris murmured shyly. Haley looked up at him and smiled shyly, too. Chris gently grabbed her hands and pulled her towards him. Haley instantly took the hint and sat right in front of him. He gently cupped her face in his hands and closed the distance between their lips. She couldn't believe how their lips fit together so perfectly… it felt so _right_. She deepened the kiss by gently grabbing his neck and pulling him closer.

When they both ran out of air, they took a much-needed break and pulled apart. They looked at each other, both blushing slightly, and smiled. Chris grabbed Haley's hands in his and leaned in for another kiss. She already loved how Chris tasted and wanted more. She pushed her lips against his with a little more pressure before she felt his tongue poking at her lips, seeking entrance.

Chris let go of Haley's hands and instead held her face again. Haley let her arms dangle around his neck loosely before she parted her lips slightly and allowed Chris' tongue to explore her mouth. It was so warm and gentle, exactly how he held his hands on her face.

After what seemed like a few brief moments, Mrs. Brooks was calling up the stairs for them to come down to dinner. They broke apart and looked at Haley's clock in disbelief. Had they seriously been making out for nearly an hour?!

"Let's go downstairs," Haley said, flustered. She hopped off her bed and led Chris down to the kitchen table. An extra chair had been added to the table for Chris. Haley took her seat next to Phil and had Chris sit on her other side. Selene sat next to Chris. Once Mrs. Brooks sat down, everyone grabbed hands, which Haley saw surprised Chris somewhat, before Mr. Brooks said grace.

"Thank you, God, for giving us health, happiness, and the food sitting on this table. Amen."

Everyone, minus Phil and Haley, echoed Mr. Brooks before they dug in.

"This is delicious, Mrs. Brooks. Thank you for having me," Chris said politely.

"You're certainly welcome, Chris," she answered with a smile. Haley gently bumped her foot against Chris' leg before he got the memo and intertwined his leg with hers. Haley smiled around a mouthful of lasagna.

"What are you grinning about, you freak?" Phil muttered loudly. Mrs. Brooks cut her eyes at him. "What, Mom? Don't tell me you think smiling with a huge hunk of lasagna in your mouth is normal."

"Well, I'm not normal to begin with," Haley justified. She heard a few snickers go around the table.

"Fuck off," Phil hissed.

* * *

**A/N:** Hope you enjoyed! Please Review!


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any WWE Talent or any of their families. I only claim ownership to my OC's.  
**Rated:** T  
**Warnings:** slash, het, AU, OC lead, explicit language, violence, mature themes, etc.  
**Before You Read:** Hope you enjoy!

* * *

#^#^# **Four Weeks Later; Friday (3:57 pm)** #^#^#

"Haley, will you and Chris come play in the snow with me?" Selene asked sweetly. Haley looked up at Chris. The two were sitting at the kitchen table, just having finished their homework.

"Sounds cool; Haley, do you want to?" Chris asked.

"Of course," she responded to both of them. Her insulated coat, scarf, hat, and mittens still sat messily on a nearby kitchen chair where she had left them earlier. She quickly bundled up and looked at Chris, who just finished doing the same.

"Come on!" Selene giggled excitedly. She grabbed both of their hands and dragged them into the front yard. The snow on the lawn was virtually untouched, unlike the snow in the backyard that Selene had decimated with snow angels already. She jumped, twisted into the air, and landed on her back before waving her arms and legs. Haley and Chris followed suit.

"Haley, take a picture of this one! I think it's my best angel ever!"

Haley smirked. Nearly every snow angel Selene had made had been declared her best. Nevertheless, Haley took out her iPhone and snapped a photo of it. She showed the girl before storing the phone into her pocket.

Ever since Mike had moved into an apartment of his own, Selene seemed to be gravitating towards Haley more and more. She never spent much time with her eldest brother, but clearly was upset about his absence. And ever since Haley and Chris became boyfriend and girlfriend two weeks ago, Selene had been up Chris' ass more each day. He didn't seem to mind the attention-seeking; he actually seemed to enjoy it. Phil was still being a sourpuss because Chris was spending so much time around him, too, so he clearly wasn't being the kind brother he had always been to Selene.

"Let's build a snowman," Selene suggested. She ran off and packed some snow into a ball before setting it down and rolling it. Haley turned to Chris and shrugged before she copied her sister.

"Do you think we're gonna get some time alone today?" Chris asked quietly. Haley gave him an apologetic glance.

"I don't know. It's Friday night, so she's probably going to have nothing better to do than follow us around."

"I don't mean that I don't like being around her," Chris said quickly. "I just want to hang out with you without school being a factor."

"I know what you meant," Haley giggled softly. Chris gave her his famous side-smirk and she felt her heart nearly melt.

"Haley's making the head and Chris is making the middle!" Selene called out randomly. "I'm making the bottom right now. Hurry up before it gets dark out!"

Haley and Chris shared a glance before laughing together. Haley continued rolling her ball of snow until Selene deemed it the right size. Chris did the same, and then helped Selene roll around hers until they could barely move it further.

"Chris, gently put your middle on my bottom," Selene instructed. Chris did as he was told and started smoothing the two lumps into one. While he did that, Haley carefully put the head on top and smoothed that out.

"He's beautiful," Selene gushed with pride. She unwrapped her scarf from around her neck and handed it to Chris. "Put this on him! I'll go find some stones to use for his eyes, mouth, and buttons."

"Her throat is going to freeze if she doesn't find stones fast enough," Haley muttered good-humoredly. Chris snorted briefly as he set the scarf around the snowman's neck neatly. Selene came back with a small pile of rocks in her gloved hand.

"Chris and Haley, you can do his eyes, nose, and mouth. I'll do his buttons," Selene said. She dumped all but five rocks into Chris' open hands and started shoving the small rocks into his torso. Between making the man's eyes and nose, Chris and Haley shared a few quick kisses.

"Done!" Selene exclaimed proudly. "Haley, take a picture!"

Haley broke from Chris' lips and, with a smile, stepped back and snapped a photo.

"Can I take a picture with your phone?" Selene asked.

"What do you want to take a picture of?" Haley returned. As she said that, though, she handed the phone to her younger sister anyway.

"You and Chris," Selene said, smiling. Haley's eyes met Chris' before she walked to his side and posed for the camera. Selene took a couple shots until she got the hang of the camera function on the phone. "Kiss," she demanded.

Haley, amidst blushing slightly, turned to face Chris. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his face down to hers, where their lips connected. She felt Chris' hands grab onto the belt loops on her jeans. She heard the phone take a few pictures before Selene ran over and handed back the phone.

"Why did you want us to kiss, 'Lene?" Chris asked, confused.

"'Cause you two are so cute when you kiss," Selene giggled. "It's like Rapunzel and Flynn from 'Tangled'!"

Haley blushed and leaned further into Chris' side. "Let's go inside; I'm getting cold."

He wrapped his arm around her body and pulled her close. "Are you ready for Christmas?"

"I guess so," she chuckled quietly. "I mean, it's still four days away. I'm mostly glad that we have a break from school until after New Year's."

"Me too," Chris said. "I was starting to get more than a little burned out."

"Our holiday break homework is done, too, so we don't have to worry about that."

"Yeah."

The trio made their way into the garage, where they left their snowy outerwear to dry. Afterwards, they went inside, where Selene started skipping circles around them.

"Haley, will you please make me hot chocolate?" Selene asked.

"I'll do it," Chris offered. "Haley, do you want some?"

"Sure," she answered tiredly. She watched as Chris looked through their cabinets until he came back with three mugs and three packets of instant hot chocolate mix. Selene insisted on helping him warm the water, and in the matter of a few minutes, Chris handed Haley and Selene a mug and kept one for him.

"Thank you, baby," Haley smiled warmly. Chris responded with a kiss. As soon as their lips met, Phil stepped into the room with a hiss of disgust.

"PDA is not allowed in the Brooks' household," Phil muttered loudly. Chris coughed to get his attention before he leaned in to Haley and kissed her. Phil grunted angrily.

"Phil, you're gonna have to get used to the fact that I'm dating your sister," Chris told him.

"Why?" Phil scoffed. "I give you guys a month tops before you break up. Why start being nice to you?"

"Fuck off, Phil," Haley shot at him. "Why can't you be happy for me?"

"I know it won't last. I don't want to see you get hurt."

Haley finished her drink and set it in the sink before she walked over to stand in front of Phil. She looked up at him angrily, which lost its affect due to the extreme height difference. He looked down at her condescendingly. One of his eyebrows raised as if to say, "Go on".

The frustration building up inside of her suddenly exploded. She took her fist and hit him in the stomach as hard as she could. He coughed out a few times and doubled over in pain. Chris and Selene looked on in shock, both frozen in place. Once the pain subsided, Phil looked at Haley with tears in his eyes.

"I wish you were never in this family. You don't deserve these people loving you. You're a selfish, coldhearted bitch and I hope you die a painful, tragic death like your mother and father did."

Haley gasped at his cold, insensitive comment and felt her hands clap over her mouth. Tears welled in her eyes and fell down her face quickly.

"I'm sorry," she whispered quietly. "I'm sorry for ruining your life, Phil, I really am."

After that, she ran up the stairs and to her room.

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#^#^# **(4:34 pm)** #^#^#

Haley sat against the door to her room and cried openly. All of her energy went into her sobbing, which made it easy for Chris to open her door and shut it before he picked her up into his arms and held her close. She wrapped her arms around his neck and cried into his shirt.

"I'm sorry," she kept repeating amidst her cries.

Chris rubbed her back soothingly. "It's okay, baby. It's okay. Shh, it's gonna be okay."

"No it's not," she sobbed uselessly. Chris let her cry herself out before he spoke again.

"I don't think Phil truly meant what he said, sweetie," Chris murmured softly. "He was just pissed that you punched him like that."

"No, he meant it," she sighed. "He's thought it and meant it since I even came into this family."

Chris rubbed her hair comfortingly with one hand while still holding her in his arms. She rested her chin on his shoulder and sighed slowly.

"I think I'm going to head home for the night, Haley," Chris murmured quietly. "I can see you need some alone time. Text or call me whenever, alright?"

"Okay," Haley responded. She watched him leave the room and listened for him to leave the house. She wiped her eyes and crawled into bed, hopefully to stay there forever. However, not five minutes after she had crawled into bed, she heard a soft knock at her door.

"Come in," she called quietly. The door opened up slowly to reveal a sobbing Selene. Tears rolled down her face pitifully and sobbing breaths heaved out of her chest with every inhale she shakily took in. Throwing her fatigue to the wind, Haley instantly was at her sister's side and hugging her close. She let Selene cry herself out until only a few tears trickled down her face.

"Selene, what's the matter?" Haley whispered for fear raising her voice would upset Selene more.

Selene sniffled loudly before she answered. "Mikey is gone. Phil doesn't play with me anymore. Mommy's at work more and more, and so is Daddy. And now you and Phil hate each other and Chris went home and Christmas is in four days…"

Her tears came back with a vengeance. With a guilty sigh, Haley lifted Selene up and carried her to her bed. She rocked her younger sister in her arms slowly until her tears diminished again. She wiped away the tears staining Selene's cheeks and handed her a tissue so she could blow her nose. While Selene blew her nose, Haley pressed a gentle kiss to Selene's temple.

"Mike isn't gone, 'Lene," Haley murmured softly. "He just has his own apartment. He comes over often still. Phil hasn't accepted Chris as my boyfriend yet. I don't even know if he's fully accepted me as his sister yet. Until he does, he's going to be stubborn and bitter and lock himself in his room. Chris will be back tomorrow. He's here every day, you know that. Dad has to work more because times are tough and we need the money, 'Lene. Mom, too; but they're both still home on the weekends. And they'll both be home Christmas, Mike, too! Santa's going to bring whatever you want, too. You've been good all year. There's nothing for you to worry about, Selene. Leave the worrying to me, okay? I don't like when you're sad. I like seeing you happy. So how about we go downstairs and make Ramen for dinner? If you don't tell, I won't tell if we eat on the couch."

With a smile, Selene looked up at Haley and threw her arms around her neck. Haley hugged her back and pushed her pain to the back of her mind to wallow in later. Right now, she had to be a good big sister for Selene. Pain could be damned.

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#^#^# **(9:29 pm) **#^#^#

When Mrs. Brooks arrived home, she found Haley and Selene curled up together on the couch, fast asleep. With a tired smile, she grabbed a throw blanket off the back of the loveseat and draped it over them. She chose to ignore the two empty bowls on the coffee table in favor of pressing a soft kiss to each of her daughter's temples before quietly climbing the stairs to her bedroom.

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#^#^# **(Meanwhile) **#^#^#

Phil lay in bed, just on the verge of falling asleep. His words from earlier haunted him. Did he really mean what he had shouted at Haley in his moment of rage? No, of course not. He loved his sister, he really did. Her punch had been so unexpected and had hurt _so_ much, though. He kind of deserved it, he thought bitterly, for being such an ass to her in regards to her relationship with Chris.

With a heavy sigh, he rolled over in bed. He made a mental agreement with himself to be nicer to Chris from now on. If he made Haley happy, then there wasn't anything he could object to. He was nice, treated Haley properly, and loved her. Essentially, that's all that really mattered.

With this in mind, Phil finally drifted off to sleep.

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**A/N:** Please Review! :D


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any WWE Talent or any of their families. I only claim ownership to my OC's.  
**Rated:** T  
**Warnings:** slash, het, AU, OC lead, explicit language, violence, mature themes, etc.  
**Before You Read:** Holy shit. I wasn't going to update again until I had more written up in advanced, but I just realized I haven't updated in a month! What the fuck happened to that time? This is a short chapter, because I don't have a lot written up after this. Enjoy!

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#^#^# **Saturday (8:46 am)** #^#^#

Haley opened her eyes tiredly. Her neck was sore from sleeping in such an awkward position, and her legs were numb from Selene sleeping on them. She yawned slowly and checked her phone. There were a few texts from Chris.

_10:54 pm – hope everything's okay there. Love u!_

_1:39 am – can't sleep ugh ._

_7:18 am – y did I just wake up? Text me when u wake up!_

With a soft smile, she responded.

_I'm up! lol wanna come over in like an hour?_

She put her phone to sleep and carefully peeled Selene's body from hers. Leaving Selene sleeping on the couch, she went upstairs and started the shower. She got in and showered. Wrapped in a towel, she went up to her room and checked her texts.

_Okay. Be there at 10 :)_

Haley smiled again before getting dressed in a pair of jeans and a grey sweater. She quickly brushed her hair before tying it back in a loose bun to dry. Afterwards, she shoved her phone in her pocket and went back downstairs. She quietly went back into the family room and left with the bowls in hand. She hand washed them and set them to dry on the side of the sink. Selene entered the room a few minutes later.

"I'm hungry," she announced, which she followed with a huge yawn. "Can you get me the Lucky Charms?"

Haley threw a narrowed smirk in her direction. "You and I both know I can't reach the cereal cupboard."

Selene giggled and ran off, returning a moment later with one of the barstools from the counter. Haley smiled at her and climbed it. She brought down the Lucky Charms box along with the Cheerio's box.

"Teamwork," Haley said, smiling. She high-fived Selene before grabbing two bowls, two spoons, and the milk gallon and carrying it all to the kitchen table. She sat across from Selene and poured some Cheerio's into her bowl.

"Is Chris coming today?" she asked eagerly. She dunked her spoon into her bowl and brought the dripping mouthful to her mouth.

"In about twenty minutes," Haley responded.

Selene smiled so wide that milk poured out the sides of her mouth. Haley choked on her cereal laughing.

"Are you okay?" Selene giggled, wiping her mouth on her sleeve.

"I will be," Haley coughed while still laughing.

The rest of breakfast passed by uneventfully. When they were finished, Haley cleaned up their mess while Selene ran off to take a shower. As soon as the dishes were cleaned, Haley heard a knock at the front door. She ran to answer it and found Chris smiling on the other side.

"Good morning," he said, smiling. They kissed briefly before he came in.

"So, are you and Phil on better terms?" Chris asked somewhat hesitantly.

"He's still asleep. Either that or he's locked himself in his bedroom and doesn't intend on coming out for quite some time," Haley responded. "I'm feeling a bit better. You know how my anger is."

"And I'm very glad I've never been on the receiving end of it," he responded. "Is 'Lene okay? When I was leaving yesterday, she looked on the verge of bawling."

"She did. Not five minutes after you left she was at my door sobbing her eyes out. She's okay now, though. Sorry you had to be in the middle of all of that."

"It's alright. Whenever you come get me at my house, my dad's usually being a dick. I guess it evens itself out."

"You've got to be the best boyfriend ever," Haley said with a hint of shyness in her voice. Chris gave her one of his megawatt smiles and kissed her.

"I'm not as good a boyfriend as you are a girlfriend," he cheesed. Haley playfully punched his shoulder and laughed.

"Cut it out, you schmoozer," Haley giggled.

Suddenly, Chris' eyes widened slightly. Haley turned around to see what he was seeing. Phil was standing awkwardly a few feet away with his hand in his hair.

"Hey, Haley, Chris," Phil finally murmured. "Chris, I'm sorry I've been such a dick to you. And Haley, I'm sorry I said what I did. I didn't mean it. I like you being in this family, and I love you. I just don't want to see you hurting."

Haley smiled slightly and ran over to him, capturing him in a hug. "I'm sorry for punching you. Are we okay now?"

"Mhm," Phil confirmed. He wrapped his arms around his sister and hugged her back. Haley started laughing into Phil's shirt when she felt Chris' arms slink around her and behind Phil's back. Phil chuckled and untangled himself.

"Let's not get weird," Phil laughed once. "Adam's coming in a bit with Jay. I figured the six of us could do something together…?"

"Absolutely!" Chris answered with a huge smile on his face. His eyes trailed down to Phil's pajama bottoms, which had Batman's face printed all over. "Dude, you like Batman too?"

"I love Batman," Phil grinned. The two walked off into the kitchen conversing about superheroes. Haley rolled her eyes and smiled before she left them and went upstairs. Selene was in her room in a towel trying to find something to wear.

"What'cha doing?" Haley asked as she sat on Selene's bed.

"I'm trying to find something cute to wear," Selene answered. Haley coughed back a laugh.

"What do you need something cute to wear for?" Haley dared to ask.

Selene turned around and looked at her like the answer should be obvious. "I heard Philly say that Adam and Jay are coming over. That's three boys that aren't related to me. I need to look good."

Haley bit her lip and tried _so hard_ not to burst out laughing. "I don't think they care what you wear, 'Lene."

Selene sighed and poked her head in her closet. She came back with a black shirt dress and silver striped leggings. "Close your eyes, I'm getting changed."

Haley did as she was told and buried her face in Selene's bed. Once she had finished changing, she told Haley so.

"Do you want to go see Chris now?" Haley asked. Selene grinned wide and sped down the stairs. Haley tried to keep up, but Selene was _fast_. She saw Selene launching herself into Chris' unsuspecting arms.

"Oh, hey kiddo," Chris said. His eyes were widened in surprise. They relaxed almost instantly, however. "How are you?"

"I'm great!" Selene announced. "Can we go to the mall now?"

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**A/N:** Please Review!


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